A New Dawn Rising
by bbwhisperer
Summary: Highly Anticipated Sequel to Darkest Before Dawn. Bella didn't want this, didn't ask for it, what will the future hold now for Bella and Edward when Jasper enters Bella's life in an unexpected way and Jake leaves moving on with his imprint Mellissa.
1. Prologue

Prologue

JPOV

I would never forget what she did for me. She was the most selfless person I ever knew and I loved her with all my heart. It would have killed me to ever hurt her, but then I should have known she'd make it easy on me. Well I could do the same for her. I would do the same for her. I would give Bella what she would need most from me now. I would give her my blessings. I would give Edward my blessings and my oath that the pack will support them and always be there for them.

Bella rested more comfortably. If the venom was burning she didn't show it. She didn't speak anymore but the screaming had finally stopped. I think that was when I finally stopped sobbing like a girl. How embarrassing, here I was this giant werewolf, Alpha of the pack and tribe leader and I was balling like a baby over Bella. The only comfort I had was knowing that if he could cry he would have been crying too. My heart actually hurt for him too. He looked like shit. Of course he was blaming himself for the whole thing. It wasn't his fault, Bella made the decision to be in the clearing despite his protests, despite my begging. Bella was the one that went swinging like a maniac at a vampire. She has serious territorial issues, but that's another story for another time. We would all just have to be grateful that she was alive, well not technically, but at least she was still with us. As soon as we burned the last of the pieces and the pack ran a few patrols to make sure every last one of Victoria's army was destroyed we carried the wounded back to the Cullen's. Emmett tried to argue with me about carrying Bella but I wasn't having any of that. I put him in charge of protecting Mellissa and that made him happy. I knew it was the last time I would hold her in my arms, smell her hair, feel her warmth, and hear her heart beating in rhythm with my own. I knew it was goodbye in a way. I ran silently through the forest with her careful not to let any branches or limbs come into contact with her precious skin. I would protect her until Edward could take over and then I knew I would have to turn her over to him forever. I also knew that he would not let her down. I knew that he would not make the same mistakes he made before. I knew he loved her, maybe even more than I had. I tired not to think about the future they would have, tried not to wonder if I would ever see her again. I tried to focus on Mellissa and the future I knew we had. We came up on the Cullen property too quickly. I smelled the stench a mile away. That stench would be Bella in a few days, I felt sick thinking about it. Carlisle showed me where to lie Bella down once we got into the house. Emmett moved another bed next to her and Edward lay beside her. His leg was still fusing and his mangled arm was just beginning to straighten again, but it didn't stop him from reaching for her hand as soon as he was able. I placed her hand into his and in an instant I knew I had just given my Bella away. I felt like a father relinquishing the bride at the altar.

"Thank you Jacob." Edward whispered bringing me out of my own little pity party.

"You are welcome Edward. Please take care of her."

"I will Jacob, I promise you that I will take care of her and I will make her happy if she'll let me."

"Don't be a fool, of course she'll let you, she has always loved you too you know."

"It is not going to be easy for her, she had just told me that she was glad she never became a vampire, she didn't want this anymore."

"I know, but Bella makes the best of things, you'll see. Just don't blame yourself Edward. It wasn't your fault."

"But…."

"No buts!!! You will seriously piss her off if you start that shit. If she blames you she will say so, but I know Bella and she won't blame you. You know that too."

"Your right, she'll blame herself."

"Yep. Now you just get her past that, ok?"

"I will."

"So what is the plan? What will you guys do now?"

Carlisle had joined us and was tending to Bella. "I think we need to get out of Forks."

"Leave? You can't just leave."

"Jacob, it won't be safe for Bella here right now. If she has trouble controlling herself how do you think she will feel if it's someone she knows that becomes a victim, what if it is Charlie, or Angela or any one of her human friends?" Even if she can control herself no one she knows can see her. It will put her in risk again. No, I'm afraid we have to do what is best for Bella right now." Carlisle was so authoritative that you just didn't want to argue with him. Besides he made sense.

"Fine, when do we leave?"

"Umm, Jacob what do you mean we?"

"I'm coming with you, I'm not leaving her." I already knew I would not win this battle but I just couldn't give it up yet.

"What about Mellissa, you can't bring her with; it's too dangerous for both of them."

"Where will you go?"

"Alaska. We were in Denali before this started anyway, we'll go back there."

"How long until, you know, until she vamps out?"

"Three days."

"Then I'm coming with to get her settled and then I'll leave."

"Fair enough, thank you Jacob for everything you and the pack did. We wouldn't have made it without your help."

"Hey, that's what we are here for."

Carlisle left to tell the others of the plan and Edward spoke again.

"Jacob, I'll give you a cell phone, you can call whenever you would like. As soon as it is safe I'll let you know and you can come back up and see her. She'll want to know that you are keeping an eye on Charlie and I'm guessing she'll want frequent updates."

"Oh man, Charlie, what the hell am I going to tell him?"

"Oh no, we don't tell him anything until Bella wakes and decides. This is her decision. As far as he knows right now she is in Seattle and school is going fine. She talked to him just before the fight so he won't even be expecting to hear from her for several days. Please Jacob promise me you won't do anything until Bella wakes up."

"Ok, your right. She needs to decide how to handle this."

"What about Mellissa, how is she?"

"I don't know. I mean I know she wasn't hurt, none of them got anywhere near her."

"She seems ok; she is worried about Bella and about you. She wants to see Bella before it is too late, why don't you go get her and bring her up here? It is safe for now, she wants to say goodbye."

Goodbye, ugh. I would have to say goodbye to Bella forever and I would have to say goodbye to Mellissa for a few days. That was going to be torture.

I left Mellissa with Bella and Edward and filled Sam in on the plans, he would run patrols and watch over Mellissa for me while I was gone. It wouldn't be long after all I'd be back in four days and Bella would be with Edward and she would be a Vampire.


	2. Chapter 1 The Vampire in the Mirror

Chapter One

The Vampire in the Mirror

The reflection staring back was me, but it wasn't me. Her hair was chestnut brown but it also reflected highlights of golden and red tones, hanging midway down her back. There was a gorgeous wave of large curls, full of body and bounce. The shine was almost a shimmer in the fluorescent lights above the vanity. I had never seen such perfect flawless skin, it held not a blemish, wrinkle or visible pore, and it was snow white and alabaster. The only hint of color was the slight darkening under the eyes; the piercing red eyes. Through those eyes came beyond perfect vision. Every facet of color in the iris stood out. I had no idea there were so many shades of red, it was like seeing the color for the very first time. The pink hue to the lips appeared to move and breathe separately from the face. There was definition to the lips, the nose, the perfect straight little nose, and the eyelashes; they were seriously a mile long. This woman was drop dead gorgeous with a body to match. She was taller, 5'8 with long legs that didn't stop and arms with the perfect definition, not overly muscular but with just the right curves. Oh my god, the abs, she has the tightest six pack and perfect breasts, they've grown too. Somehow I knew they were the ideal C cup. At first I thought I must be dreaming, this is too good to be true; then I remembered I don't dream anymore. That drop dead gorgeous beauty in the mirror is me; Isabella Marie Swan, Vampire.

Well, I may never turn nineteen, but at least my body transformed into 'total' woman and I wouldn't go through eternity in a 'girls' body. I never really cared that much about looks or my figure, I'd always been on the thin side, but now I looked like someone who took working out seriously. I looked athletic, healthy and fit and I could feel my confidence boost. I could easily pass for mid maybe even late twenties just as easily as nineteen. That alone would give me so many more opportunities. I took a deep breath even though I didn't need to, force of habit I guess, and walked out of the bathroom door to find my family, my entire new family standing around the bedroom waiting for my reaction. "Well Edward, what do you think?" I decided to turn the tables, they could chime in first.

"I think you are as gorgeous as you've always been." He smiled the crooked grin I always loved; only it was like seeing it for the first time. The slight way he cocked his head to the left and the right side of his mouth raised just a fraction of an inch higher than the left made me melt.

"Oh come on Edward, don't tell me you aren't a little psyched about those new and improved boobs." Emmett laughed wagging his eyebrows.

"Emmett." Edward chastised.

"Ahem, you better watch where you're looking mister or those are the only boobs you will be seeing." Rosalie smacked Emmett in the back of the head playfully, winking at me.

"Well I agree, they are pretty hot, I'm kind of excited about them myself." I laughed as they all stared, jaws dropping. "But check out this butt; it's hard as a rock." I turned in a 360 until they all figured out I was messing around and laughed with me.

"So come sit down and tell us what you remember Bella." Good old Carlisle, forever the clinician.

"Carlisle, I think she may need to eat first." Edward offered.

"Oh, of course Bella do you feel like you need nourishment?" Carlisle asked.

"No, I don't think so, I feel pretty good, how would I know if I need nourishment?" I knew something was wrong when they all turned to one another with inquisitive stares and shrugs.

"Bella, isn't your throat burning?" Edward walked towards me very slowly.

"No, should it be?"

There were several resounding yeses through the small room.

"It's amazing, she is not hungry, she is not confused, and I've never seen anything like it." Jasper looked both confused and very hungry.

"What does this mean?" I asked Edward.

"I don't know, I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Ok, well you don't all really want to hang out in the bedroom do you? I mean can we go downstairs?"

"Of course Bella."

Once we were all settled downstairs I recounted what I could remember starting at the clearing. "I first knew I was in trouble by the look on Edward's face, he looked up at me with horror and guilt and grief and I knew I was dead. I felt my head yank back and a sharp stabbing into my neck, Victoria bit me. She said such horrible things but when she ordered Edward be left alive I didn't care what she did to me. At first the pain was so bad, the burning was so excruciating, that I just wished she would kill me then and there. It worsened when she bit me again." I said rubbing the new scar on my wrist matching the one from James on the other arm. They glistened now in this new skin. "It was then that I realized she wasn't going to kill me, she was going to change me and Edward was going to survive. I knew everything was going to be ok. Anyway, I watched Jake tear her apart and felt Edward lie next to me."

"Oh, Edward, how is your leg?"

"I'm fine Bella." He sounded surprised, hmm. "Then I recall Jake kneeling by us and pledging his love and protection. All of a sudden the pain dissipated, I felt like I had been drugged I was loopy and numb. I tried to talk but I couldn't. Carlisle, did you give me something, a shot?"

"No, I had nothing with us. I wish I had thought of that."

"I can't believe it worked. Bella, I think it was me. I tried to calm you down and tried to take the pain away. I didn't think it would actually work, I thought…, well, I'm just glad that it worked." Jasper explained.

"Well whatever you did it worked, I didn't feel any pain. Thank you Jasper."

"We went back to the house, Jake and the pack joined us. Sam had a couple of the wolves run patrols out by the clearing to make sure there were no more newborns, a couple wolves ran patrols around the house. I remember Jake sitting at my one side and Edward at the other. I heard the conversation between the two of you Edward. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Oh, I take it we are in Alaska? I heard the discussion about leaving Forks. The drive here I laid in your lap in the back seat. I know Jake drove up with us, but he's gone now isn't he?"

"He didn't want to leave, believe me Bella. He fought about it, he's very stubborn and very protective of you. In the end it was his love and concern for you that made him understand why he must go. He knew that if you couldn't control yourself, if you hurt him, it would destroy you. I promised to let him know when it was safe and he will return to see you."

"I see, but I could never hurt Jake, Edward surely you know that." I was a bit irritated that anyone could think I could ever hurt him.

"Bella, you are exhibiting uncanny control. Every newborn I have ever seen, and I have seen thousands Bella, have been unstable when they are first 're-born'. Your throat should be burning; it should be an excruciating feeling. Human blood and the thirst should be the only thing you can focus on right now. The newborns I have trained could not even carry on much of a conversation before feeding. Bella, you are doing quite remarkably, I know it is hard to believe that you could ever hurt Jake, but if you were a typical newborn the threat would be very real."

"Thank you Jasper." I felt better that it wasn't their expectations of me but their knowledge of newborns that tainted their views.

"Bella, do you remember anything else after we arrived in Alaska?" Carlisle really just couldn't help himself.

"Although I really didn't feel the excruciating pain I know I should have felt with the burn of the venom I could feel the venom travel through my body. At first it was a vague sensation like a heat rising and spreading within me. After awhile it became easier to focus and narrow in on the sensation. It seemed my mind could trace the spread at infinitesimal degrees; I could pinpoint the exact place in my body where the venom had already consumed me and the areas that still harbored human blood. I could feel the venom overtake the new portions of my body, replace what it no longer needed, wanted. It was easier to focus on that and the conversations around me at the same time. I recall hearing Jake's breathing and the precise moment when I knew it was different, distinguishable from the other hollow breathing I heard. It seemed all of my senses began to heighten as well. Jake being here made it easy to differentiate. Oh, I know what you all meant about the wolves scent; Jake does stink."

"Geez, I told you so." Rosalie rolled her eyes and Emmett was laughing so hard he was literally rolling on the floor. Jasper and Edward were smirking but controlled themselves. Esme actually bore a consoling motherly look as if one of her children were told they had bad breath.

"What _IS_ that noise?" I was suddenly quite irritated by a constant dripping sound. It seemed far away and sounded like water dripping from a faucet someone had not turned off completely, but that wasn't it, it was like multiple faucets but the drips were not landing on hard porcelain. It was something softer, a wash cloth maybe, left in the sink. It was maddening, I couldn't tune it out. Then out of nowhere there was a new sound added, a thumping, it quickened and slowed and without warning a new consistent sound emerged, one I did recognize. It was a heartbeat. "Edward!"

"It's ok Bella, it's a deer. Is it making you hungry, is your throat burning?"

"Gross. No." So that was not the reaction they all expected; it was met with bank stares. "What is that dripping noise? It is driving me crazy."

"Ah, snow melting off a tree at the base of the mountains. Droplets of water are falling onto the undergrowth below."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me, am I going to have to hear everything that vividly?"

"You will learn to tune it out Bella. The deer is not tempting you at all?" Jasper looked bewildered and again very hungry. What is it with him and his fascination with my hunger?

"No should it be? It's kind of repulsive actually."

"Carlisle?" Edward looked to Carlisle and his voice, that musical opera in each word, conveyed worry, fear and concern. His voice, I always thought it was magical, now I thought I would cry just hearing the melody of it, so rich, so deep, and so complex. It wasn't just his voice; it was all of our voices. Our voices, that included mine. I now shared those qualities I only ever had a glimpse of, but with these new sharper, heightened senses it was very overwhelming. Even that felt different. The overwhelming sensation that I know would have consumed all of me before was now just a tiny part of the theatre in my mind. I could only equate it to watching all the acts of every play ever created enacted at once and not missing a second of anything transpiring on that stage.

"Bella love, what is wrong?" Edward reached for my hand. Oh yes, they had been having a conversation about what it could mean that I was apparently not hungry or enticed by the deer while I was visiting the theatre.

"Nothing is wrong, other than the fact that I am experiencing mind blowing capabilities right now. I don't even know what to focus on my mind is registering so many things at once. I feel like a computer. How do you focus? Oh look a spider! Oh, look at the web it's like a thousand strands of the finest silk. Oh, sorry." I felt Edward's fingers intertwine with mine.

"Uhh, you're not cold, Edward."

"No actually, it's your temperature that has changed love; I am just as cold as I have been for the past ninety years."

"Oh, yeah, Ok." I squeezed his hand gently to show him I understood and appreciated him.

"Uhm Bella, you are quite a bit stronger now too dear." Oh no, I hurt Edward, I actually caused him physical pain.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Woos." Emmett punched Edward playfully in the arm as he teased him.

"But that did not hurt? Or did it?" How could my little squeeze hurt him but Emmett punching him didn't?

"I know my strength Bella; it's all about getting accustomed to your new abilities. Don't worry you'll learn as you go." Emmett was actually being quite gentle. I didn't know that he had it in him; no maybe I did know.

"Bella, actually you are stronger than Emmett right now, hell, you're stronger than all of us right now. Think about the newborns you saw a few days ago. You'll never be as strong as you are right now. That strength will gradually diminish over the first year. They were all at least weeks older than you are right now and it was already starting to lessen. They were all very strong, but they didn't know how to control that strength. That's what we will help you with Bella." Jasper explaining what it was like to be a newborn reminded me of his instructions at the clearing when my family was practicing and preparing for the fight. Oh, the fight that was only a few days ago. VICTORIA. "That bitch bit me."

"Yes Bella. Victoria bit you. It was too late to extract the venom by the time Jake got her off of you. Carlisle tried, but she managed to hold us off just a little too long."

"Oh. She is dead right? It is over now, right?"

"It's all over love, they are all gone."

"Eeew, what is that smell?"

"That's a wolf Bella, a regular old wolf." Rosalie didn't even try to hold back her laughter as she identified the smell for me.

Now she was starting to annoy me, I heard this low rattling sound and realized I had growled at her. I was horrified. I didn't mean to be so rude.

"Rosalie I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to growl." Luckily she laughed even harder.

"It's ok Bella, I'm actually glad to see you stick up for yourself for a change. I like the new Bella."

"Bella, I think you should hunt. It may not be safe to put it off even if you aren't feeling the burning effects yet. Keeping yourself well nourished is the key to avoiding harming humans."

"Oh, well then I'll hunt, I don't want to take any chances. What do I do?"

"Come on, I'll show you love." Edward reached for my hand and we walked to the front door for my first attempt at drinking blood.


	3. Chapter 2 The Hunt

**So this chapter is a lot of filler but crucial to some key plot points so enjoy the fluff while it lasts. Still amazed by what a small percentage of readers actually send reviews, so special huge thanks to the loyal reviewers that take the time every chapter to tell me what you think, this story is for you.**

**BTW Stephanie still owns the Twilight storyline and characters, I do however own the OCs and my version of the insanity.**

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Chapter two

The Hunt

Edward led me out the door. I noticed this house was vastly different from the Cullen house in Forks. This one was more rustic; it resembled a large hunting lodge. The giant natural timbers ran exposed along the ceiling in the two story entry. They set off the hardwood floors perfectly. I think it was the clicking of my heels on the hardwood that brought it to my attention. I noted the large porch running the length of the house and the wooden Adirondack chairs set in cozy seating areas. I imagined all the evenings that Edward and I would be able to sit out here talking. I wondered if it would be too cold in Alaska to sit out and enjoy the solitude. Hmm. It's fifty-one degrees out, it feels completely comfortable. I would have been chilled at this temperature in forks, but I wasn't now.

"Edward, how will the temperatures affect me?"

"You will always feel like it is the perfect temperature for you, it will never feel cold or hot, it's like an automatic heat and air system; regardless of the external temperature you'll find it perfect."

"Huh!"

"We just have to remember to dress accordingly so as not to arouse suspicion. Even though we wouldn't need a jacket at thirty below, you would draw attention if you were outdoors in shirtsleeves."

"Got it, same for summer then, don't wear a heavy sweater when it's ninety out."

"Right, except remember that if the sun is out you will be in long sleeves and pants if you must be outside. Alice is fond of flesh colored gloves and makeup to hide our hands and exposed skin."

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to see what I look like in the sun."

"Well, it won't be this week; forecast is for clouds all week."

"There don't seem to be any houses around here, how close are the nearest neighbors?"

"Tanya's house is about a mile and Eleazar and Carmen have a house about a three miles from that. The nearest humans are about ten miles. Between us we own about thirty miles of property. If you stay to the north of our house you shouldn't encounter a human for about forty miles with the exception of an occasional hunter."

"So where do you usually hunt?"

"About three miles to the north there is usually an abundance of deer, caribou and some smaller animals."

"Okay, so what do I do? How do I find food?"

"Just like when you were in the house, you will be able to hear the heartbeats, smell the scent much sooner than you will see the uhmm…food."

"Ok."

"Let's stop here. Listen to the sounds around you. What do you hear?"

"Um, I think water dripping from trees again, leaves rustling, bugs chirping, some kind of machine or engine in the distance."

"Those are the lights at the house, that is electricity buzzing."

"Wow."

"Now what?"

"I hear something scampering around like a small animal, maybe a mouse. I hear a faint heartbeat. It smells terrible."

"Mice. You are doing great, focus."

"I hear a bunch of hearts beating, sticks breaking, chewing, the smell is woodsy, spicy, I can't…."

"You smell deer. There is a small herd not too far from here, can you count the heartbeats to figure out how many."

"Yes, five distinguishable hearts."

"Excellent."

"Now what?"

"Is your throat reacting yet?"

"No, nothing different."

"Hmm, let's move towards them."

We walked quietly for about a hundred yards. Edward stopped me and whispered, watch. He sprinted at such speed I never would have seen with human vision; he would have just been gone. He bent his left knee and pushed off the right leg launching himself into stride. The muscles in his thigh contracted as he pushed off, stretching at his Levis and the muscles in his ass tightened. Oh my, not now Bella, focus. Those strong legs, so powerful, so fast; I followed him. The next thing I knew deer were scattering, the earth shook under my feet and Edward stood perfectly still looking at me.

"Did I do that?" I was shocked and a little embarrassed, was I that big of a clod?

"Yes."

"What did I do wrong?"

"You are extremely strong right now Bella, you don't need to apply any force to accomplish small tasks like running. Did you try to put effort into your first stride, try to use strength?"

"Yeah, I think so. I thought I'd need to in order to run."

"It's ok Bella; it will take some time to get accustomed to how your new body works. You will find that nothing really takes much effort, you just think 'run' and you are ghosting, and there is no more force than that necessary."

"That is going to take some getting used to. I've always had to concentrate on just keeping both feet firmly on the ground when walking so I wouldn't trip."

"Love, you are doing great and we have forever, so take your time. I have an idea. Come here by this tree."

I walked to Edward next to a thirty foot Spruce as he smiled warmly at me. I could feel the love and patience he projected and I felt safe.

"Just touch the tree Bella."

"Touch the tree, ok." I reached out and touched the tree, it was sticky and damp and teeming with life. It shook slightly under my touch.

"Now try it as gently as you can."

I concentrated and merely grazed the tree with my fingertips imagining it was Edward's cheek and I was placing gentle caresses across his face. The tree did not quiver.

"Great, now try pushing at it as if you were pushing open a partially closed door."

Oh god, the tree was swaying under the tiny bit of pressure exerted. "Edward! It's going to fall." He put out a hand and secured the tree stopping the swaying.

"It's ok love; this is the best way I know to help you learn your own strength. It will take some concentration in the beginning until you learn your abilities and amount of exertion you need to put into activities."

"The deer are back, I hear them eating again."

"Yes Bella, do you want to try again? Watch me first then do what I do."

"Ok, I'm ready."

Edward took off again. This time I concentrated on taking gentle long strides and I was running after him. He launched himself at one of the deer coming at him from behind and gently landed at its side with its neck in his hands. Edward stretched the skin at its neck and lowered his head, sinking his teeth into its neck. I could smell the blood, hear Edward sucking and swallowing. It smelled like iron. I felt nauseous but not lightheaded. I could do this, I had no choice, I had to do this. I saw a second deer; it was a bit smaller, a doe. Remembering what Edward did I jumped toward the deer, landing right on its back shaking the ground again and grabbed for the neck to keep it still. The deer was thrashing under my weight trying desperately to escape my clutches. I bent over the neck and bit, surprisingly my teeth went straight through the fur and thick hide and I felt a warm, wet fluid fill my mouth and for a flash of a second I felt repulsed but before I realized what I was doing I greedily sucked and didn't stop until there was no more. By the time I was finished Edward was standing back watching me.

"How did I do?"

"Great, a little easier on the landing next time, but otherwise perfect, you didn't spill a drop. How do you feel?"

"Good, I didn't realize I was, umm, hungry but I guess I was."

"Do you want more?"

"Yes, I think so."

"This time I'll watch you, listen for your prey, locate it, then just go with your gut, do what feels right to you. Bella, are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh sorry, I was thinking about the taste and the smell."

"It's ok. Did you hear me?"

"Yes, go with my gut, got it."

By the time we finished hunting I had consumed three deer, a fox and a rabbit. I felt full, but it was so different from the full feeling after eating a huge meal as a human. This felt more like an energized feeling, like being complete and satisfied not that lethargic I ate too much on Thanksgiving feeling.

"Oh Edward, do you remember your last Thanksgiving?"

"No, I don't remember it."

"Oh."

"Bella, try to remember the things about your human life that you would like to keep forever. Remember Charlie, Renee, Jake, Billy, the pack, Mellissa. Any one that was important to you that you would like to keep in your memories. The more you think about them right now the more seared into your permanent memories they will be."

"Alright."

"Oh, Edward, can you hear my thoughts?"

"No Bella, I haven't heard anything since you were bitten, not even when Mellissa was with you."

"Uh, Mellissa. Oh yeah, she was a counter to my shield right?"

"That's right."

"Oh, Jake! I loved Jake. Mellissa. Imprint. Oh god."

"It's ok love."

"Edward I heard your conversation with Jake while I was transforming. First of all, Jake was right. It was not your fault. Honestly, if anyone is to blame its Victoria; she did this.  
This is all on her. Yes I decided to be in the clearing, I decided to attack a bunch of vampires with a baseball bat; remind me to thank Emmett later. None of that matters anymore. No, this isn't what I wanted, but let's face it; if I hadn't made those choices she would have come after us somewhere else, another time. At least with my being in that clearing it gave us the chance to destroy them all. It's over finally. As for being a vampire, no, it isn't what I wanted, but Edward it beats the hell out of you being destroyed. I just got you back, what do you think I would have had to go through if I lost you again, to watch you be destroyed and lived to deal with that. No, this is better; this really was the only way. There are no more obstacles now, we can finally move on together. I hate to say this but I'm glad the last year happened. I'm glad that I got to grow and have those experiences. I'm glad we lost each other, now we can truly grow together and appreciate what we have. I wouldn't trade any of that pain. It brought us to now."

"Bella, I love you, I promise you we will have a beautiful future together."

"I know, and I love you too Edward, I always have."

"Bella, you know then that Jake agreed not to say anything to Charlie until you were able to decide how to handle that. We are ok for now, you just talked to him a few days ago and school still believes you are sick. Mellissa will be going back to school though so we don't have a lot of time."

"I won't be able to see him again will I?"

"No Bella, I'm sorry, he would know immediately that it wasn't really you. Besides, think of the risk it would put him in, you have to decide if that would be worth it."

"Ok."

What to do about Charlie….


	4. Chapter 3 What to do About Charlie

Chapter three

What to do About Charlie

We walked the rest of the way back to the house in silence. I needed time to process all that had happened, but my mind just kept jumping around distracted by the increased capacity. Truth be told, I was not thrilled to be a vampire. I had finally realized that I liked my human life, liked growing, learning and aging and then it happened anyway. I found the irony a bit much; all the time I wanted to be a vampire and not only would Edward not agree, but he successfully stopped it from happening when James bit me. Now when I finally realized that I didn't want to be a vampire, at least not at the time, then it happens and Edward can't stop it. I'm going to have to come to terms with it and focus on the positives. So I am going to have to drink blood, it's not like I never ate anything I didn't like before. Sushi, I never understood the draw, it was disgusting but I ate it when Renee was on her kick. Pepperoni on pizza, it was revolting but Charlie and Jake liked it so I ate it. I always hated taking vitamins but I did it every day despite the horrid aftertaste. I could certainly drink animal blood for sustenance, I mean I ate the meat of the very same animals didn't I, why was it so different? At least I'd never have to worry about cholesterol, high blood pressure, fat content, sugar, diabetes, weight gain. But, to never see Charlie and Renee again, how am I going to do that? How am I going to exit their lives? What possible resolution can I provide them that won't tear them apart? It isn't possible. Any parent having to face the death of a child was horrible. Was there anything I could do to make it easier on them? I'd start by asking Alice whether she had seen anything to give me a clue.

We climbed the porch steps and I immediately went to one of the seating arrangements and plopped down on an Adirondack chair. Of course, I wasn't concentrating on my strength and landed half way through the porch. I managed to destroy the chair and break several boards of the porch decking, my legs were straight up in the air and I was bent in a V with my butt wedged between the boards. My blue sweater was ripped and my shoe was broken. I was furious with myself and it didn't help that Emmett was laughing his ass off in the house.

"Edward if you know what is good for you, you will not laugh. Emmett, you are so dead big brother." Edward not only didn't laugh but he was at my side before I finished the sentence removing the obstructing pieces of wood and inquiring on my well being.

"I am a vampire, how the hell do you think I am? I'm fine, get out of the way."

By the time I got myself detangled from ruined boards Emmett, Rosalie and Esme were out on the porch. Emmett did not heed my warning and was making comments about my continued clumsiness into this life. Esme was scolding him for his behavior but Edward and Rosalie realized the danger. Three things happened at once. Rosalie jumped in front of Emmett knocking him down the stairs, Edward jumped in front of Rosalie and I lunged for Emmett's throat. I landed squarely into Edward's chest knocking us to the floor. The crashing of marble bodies together followed by Emmett and Rosalie's tumble down the stairs was deafeningly loud. The entire porch shook and more wood flew in shattered pieces.

"Emmett, you are an ignorant ass. DO. NOT. MAKE. FUN. OF. HER." Rosalie kicked Emmett off of her where they landed at the bottom of the stairs. "If you are truly stupid enough to piss off a newborn vampire so be it, but don't you dare make fun of Bella. She has been through enough without your B.S." Rosalie continued her tirade at her husband and I felt my fury simmer down to a low boil before dissipating altogether.

Edward just held me watching my face. I was sure he couldn't figure out what to do with me when he took me by complete surprise. "Don't worry Bella; at least one of us wants to tear Emmett apart every day. Today was your turn." He turned to Emmett, "Dumb ass." And back to me again. "Do you want to sit out here for awhile love?" Pushing debris out of the way and leading me to the next chair.

"Thank you Edward. Esmee, Rosalie, I am sorry."

"It's ok dear; we will give you some space." Esmee began to retreat back into the house.

"Actually, where is Alice? We need to talk, I have to figure out what to do about Charlie and I really need the family's help."

"Hunting. Jasper was famished so she and Carlisle went with him. None of them have hunted since the fight. Jasper would not leave you during the transformation in case you needed more help with the pain. I'm afraid he was quite on edge by the time you and Edward left to hunt. They left right after you."

"Ok, well Edward do you mind waiting out here? I'd like to clear my head a bit."

"Of course, love."

"Bella, I'm sorry." Emmett gave me his puppy dog eyes and part of me knew he felt bad but apparently not the part that controlled my mouth. "Emmett, NOT NOW! Please just go inside." At least I managed to keep the 'before I kick your ass' to myself.

We sat back on the porch in silence until Edward announced that Carlisle, Alice and Jasper were on their way home.

"Edward would you call Tanya's and ask them to come over too. I would like to get her input particularly. I want to do what will cause the least hurt for Charlie and Renee; I think Tanya's insight will be helpful."

He was already dialing the phone by the time I finished asking.

My new extended family assembled in the main gathering area of the house. A giant two story stone fireplace anchored the room, it opened to both sides and was so large that if you wanted to, you could climb up the surround seating and walk straight through it to the other room with the television area and game room. The side we were gathered on housed very comfortable seating areas that made the most of the fireplace and the window wall. The windows were the only thing that reminded me of the house in Forks. The entire wall was comprised of floor to ceiling windows that really extended the outdoors right into the rustic room. The overstuffed brown leather couches would have been huge anywhere else but the twenty foot ceilings and generous proportions to the room made them look perfect. There were smaller wooden tables situated in front of the windows; one with a chess board and chairs and one with a reading lamp aside an overstuffed reading chair.

I opted to sit with my back to the windows as I was having a difficult enough time focusing and concentrating. The incredible view through my sharpened vision would have been too distracting.

"Thank you all for everything that you have done for me this past week. I'm having difficulty focusing so I'll just get right to it. I need to make some decisions as to a plausible reasoning for my disappearance, mostly for my parents. I could use your advice and your help to get through this. I want to cause Charlie, Phil and Renee the least amount of pain possible, but I also want to keep them safe. What are my options?"

"That is a pretty short list; you disappear, no contact ever; fake your death; or some excuse that will delay the time in which they have to deal with either of the first two options. Lastly, and I would not recommend it, stage a fight and sever all ties."

"No, I won't do the last one."

"Good. Ok, pros and cons everyone, first if she disappears." Jasper was such the consummate strategist that everyone just looked to him automatically. I had never noticed it before. You could practically see the switch flip, turning him on to battle mode.

"Renee and Charlie have hope that she is out there somewhere, but knowing Charlie he may go into Police Chief mode and start a nationwide search." Emmett started the ball rolling.

"Maybe someday she would be able to see them again if she leaves the door open." Rosalie was hopeful.

"It will be harder them if they don't know what's happened. " Tanya offered.

"Tanya, will it be easier for them if they believe I am dead?"

"Not necessarily easier, but it does provide them with some closure. If you disappear they will never really know and there is no closure, they'll keep hoping."

"Uhm not to be selfish, but Carlisle's gone on record with the University as treating Bella. If Charlie finds that out what are the chances he will start looking at our doorstep?" Emmett being practical; huh?"

"Oh god. No. We have to cover those tracks; we can't let Charlie connect my disappearance to the family. We can't take that chance." After everything else that has happened I can't allow Carlisle or Edward to be the subject of a manhunt. We should have told Charlie I was sick. It would cover this and provide an explanation for my death."

"Bella it's pretty rare to die from Mono, besides I couldn't fake that for a coroner." Carlisle was up and pacing. It was clear he was considering potential causes of death that we would be able to fake.

"What about the pack? Are they going to go along with any explanation?" Emmett made a good point, how could I see Jake and Mellissa and how could Jake keep that from Charlie. Jake could order the wolves to keep quiet, but Charlie would rely on Billy and Jake to get through this, how could Jake do it?

"The pack will probably be more willing to go along with an explanation that keeps Charlie and the rest of Forks safe. Hang on, why don't we get Jake on the phone, he can speak for the pack better than us guessing, besides he'd want to help you with this Bella." Edward had a point and it seemed he really had grown. Not only was he respecting my decisions he was recognizing the needs of others to make their own decisions too.

"Good idea Edward, do you have his number?"

"Yes, Bella, I gave Jake a cell phone so that he can stay in touch with us."

"Thank you Edward." He was dialing and placed the phone on speaker and set it down on the table in front of me.

"Edward, is she, is she awake?"

"Hi Jake, it's me. I'm uh, awake."

"Bells, holy shit is it really you? You sound; you sound…like an angel."

"It's me; you always thought I was an angel." I said with a smile. I had a vivid memory of my Prom, Jake insisting that I looked like an angel. What would he think if he saw me now, white shimmering skin, radiant beauty and crimson eyes? Jake must have been remembering Prom too, I could see the look in Edward's eyes, and he was solemn but appreciative. I thought I'd better stop Jake's train of thought, but Edward was faster than I was.

"Yes Jake, she was as beautiful as an angel that day, but wait until you see her now, trust me." He said it with such love and affection that I knew he sincerely meant he wished Jake could see me out of love. There was no sense of jealously or territorial behavior.

"Okay, enough. Jake, I'm ok, it's over, the transformation is over and I'm fine, a little different but fine. Hey is my voice that different?" I wondered if maybe I could call Charlie one last time, if I did would he know something was off.

"Oh Bells I'm so sorry. I was expecting you to sound different and I wouldn't have believed it was you, I wouldn't have recognized your voice, except well, Edward is the only one that has this number, so I knew it was really you.

"Oh." My chest ached; I wondered if this was what that phantom pain I'd heard that amputees felt was like. I knew my heart couldn't break, but the hollow aching in the middle of my chest could only be attributed to a breaking heart. I knew, I'd felt it before, more than once. "Well that settles that."

"Settles what Bells?"

"Jake, I need to decide what to do about Charlie. I could use your help, the rest of my family is here with me and I need you too."

"Of course Bella, what are the options?"

Jasper ran through the options and the pros and cons so far identified. He explained that whatever I decided, we would need the pack's help.

Edward explained that I wanted to be able to see Jake and Mellissa in the future and my concern for how difficult it may be for Jake to console Charlie knowing I was still in existence.

"Bells, you know that Billy and I will do anything to get Charlie through this and the pack will keep him safe, but Bella, you can't give him false hope. If he starts digging it could turn out worse. What has Alice seen?"

"Jake I can't see Charlie; he is too integrally tied to you and Billy and with the pack running around, it's just not clear. Mellissa's not around me take it?"

"No, I dropped her back at the dorm."

"Jake, how is she?" I suddenly realized how selfish I was being, I hadn't even asked about her after everything she did for me."

"She's fine Bella, she is worried about you, but she is fine, she was far away from any of the fighting."

"And emotionally, is she coping with all this?"

"Hell, she's doing better than you did when you learned about our world."

I growled slightly at the phone.

"Jake, we don't make newborns angry, for any reason Ok buddy?" Edward spoke softly and kept his eyes on me.

"Sorry, didn't mean anything by that Bella, she's just had a much different immersion into the fantasy world."

"I'm sorry, I'm being rude. I have some things to work on Jake; my temper seems to be one of them." I looked at Emmett and he winked at me.

"Well disappearing doesn't sound like a good option, how would we fake my death and how do we erase the connection to Carlisle treating me?"

"I think I can handle that, Charlie still believes that we are together."

"Oh, that's right we never told him."

"This could work to our benefit." Jasper was suddenly out of his chair and pacing the floor.

"What are you thinking Jasper?" Jake and Jasper, military leader, pack leader, planning another strategy.

"Jake, you could call Charlie, tell him the Bella's sick. She called Carlisle since he is the only doctor that has treated her in Forks. He saw her; she has mono and strep throat. She can't talk for a few more days, but she's already feeling better. She will call him next week. That will explain Carlisle's involvement and buy us some time so we can put a little distance between the illness and a death."

"She can't die from mono or strep Jasper, I can't fake that." Carlisle reminded us.

"No, but if she's fine again before something unrelated happens to her it will put the school and Charlie off of Carlisle's track."

"Won't school or someone at school notice that I never came back?"

"Jake, will Mellissa help with the cover story?"

"Yeah of course, she can vouch for Bella being there. It would be better if at least some teacher could 'believe' she's been in class, turned in an exam, something."

"I'll do it." Tanya said out of the blue.

"Do what?" I looked to Tanya, confused. What else was new, I was feeling that way a lot today. Jasper was suddenly very excited and Alice went into a trance. "Tanya, you can't pretend to be one of my professors."

"No, I'll pretend to be you."

"What?"

"I'll go to school, hang around, be seen with Mellissa, and take a test or two. No one will realize it isn't you. I won't get that close to anyone; I'll keep my distance but firmly provide evidence of you on campus. It will be enough to fool the humans. Don't worry; I won't blow your GPA."

"Can you be around all those humans without a problem?"

"Bella, if anyone has the control it's Tanya." Edward smiled at me with understanding.

"You sure you can be that close to Mellissa for that amount of time?" Jake questioned a little nervously.

"Jake, Bella, if you two only knew how many times I have gone to college, lived in the dorms, taught college. I assure you it is no problem."

"I trust her Bells." If Jake could trust her with Mellissa, so would I. "Besides, I'll be there most of the time."

"Oh, sounds like fun wolf boy."

"Tanya!"

"Sorry Bella."

"Tanya will take Bella's place for a week or two, just long enough to provide evidence that Bella recovered and was fine. Bella, you can send Charlie a letter and email Renee from your school account. Once everyone believes everything is normal we will fake your death."

"How am I going to die?" There, I said it. I thought about how I would die too many times in the past two years.

"The most plausible is an animal attack; it will feed into the attacks Charlie is already investigating and provide an excuse for not having a body." Carlisle explained "there will be no DNA or anything else to worry about."

"Bella, I can tell Charlie that we went hiking and we were attacked. I'll leave some of your clothing ripped up and plant some other evidence to link to you. Carlisle, maybe you can come and 'treat' me for my injuries, I'll have to fake it for a few weeks."

"Maybe one of the pack can find you in the forest."

"Yes, we'll leave a note from Bella at Charlie's, you came home for the weekend and we went for a hike. When we don't come back, he'll call at Billy's. Billy can have the 'boys' go out looking for us. They can find me and whatever we can leave of yours."

"Jake, my bracelet, Charlie will know it was me, he knows I would never take it off. I know I can't wear it anymore, but I would like it back if you can, Jake."

"I'll ask him if I can keep it, he will want me to have it. I'll get it back to you I promise."

Edward rubbed my back and shoulders and I knew he read Jake's thoughts and realized the significance.

"Alice, is this going to work?"

"I can only see parts, but yes Charlie will accept it and he and Renee will have closure."

"Jake, make sure Mellissa is ok with this. The pack too, they will all have to lie for me. What about Billy, what does he know?"

"Bella, we already talked through this when I got back from Alaska. The pack and that includes Billy and Mellissa now too, all agreed we would do whatever you needed. To be honest we expected we'd be faking some kind of death or disappearance. We are all ok with this, we'll do it for you and we'll do it for Charlie."

"Billy knows?"

"Yeah, he wants to talk to you hold on."

"Hello Bella, I'm so sorry about everything that has happened."

"Hi Billy, thank you."

"Bella, you are family remember? I will take care of Charlie, I'll get him through this, and it is better this way. He would never get over it if he thought you were out there somewhere and couldn't or wouldn't come home. We can do this Bella, trust us."

"Thank you Billy, thank you all. So that settles it, in three weeks I'll be killed by an animal, gotta love the irony."

"Emmett, you have a porch to fix, you better get to it son." Carlisle effectively ended the conversation and everyone laughed. I picked up the phone and took it off speaker, it's not like everyone wouldn't hear the conversation but it seemed more polite.

"Jake?"

"I'm here Bells, I miss you already."

"I'm sorry."

'You're sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for. Now don't you go blaming anyone other than Victoria. Edward gave me a cell phone so I can reach you and you can reach me anytime, ok. I'll keep an eye on Charlie for you too. I need to go now I have to start setting things in motion and I need to fill in the others on the plan. I'll talk to you soon and I'll see ya, when I see ya. Take care of yourself."

"Thank you Jake, Edward wants to talk to you for a minute. Bye."


	5. Chapter 4 Waiting for the End of Days

**A/N: I know we are off to a slow start, but it is necessary to set up some plot lines. thanks for haning in there with me. **

**As always I don't own Twilight, just fantasize about it.**

Chapter four

Waiting For the End of Days

It was amazing how much more time you had when you didn't require sleep. Alice and Rosalie had Tanya upstairs playing Barbie for hours transforming her into me. Esmee and Carlisle had retreated to their room, Kate and Irina and Carmen and Eleazar had gone home. Emmett was playing Wii and jasper was reading. I had been sitting for a long while, my mind wandering while Edward rotated playing with my hair and gently rubbing my back. Occasionally he would go play the piano and come back to sit with me. I tried to remember every birthday, holiday, and summer vacation with Charlie, what friends I could still remember from Phoenix and Forks. I didn't think it was possible to forget Jake, but I spent a lot of time trying to recall every detail of our time together and I replayed all of my time with Edward. I recalled first seeing him in school, saving me from being crushed by a van, walking in the clouds together, talks in the meadow and I recalled him leaving me. I wondered for a second if I should let that go but opted to keep it in my memories if I could. Even though it was my most unpleasant memory I thought it would somehow make our future more complete.

"Alice wants to know if you are ready to see, well, you." Edward's voice broke me from my thoughts and I was returned to the present.

"Well, I guess so." I doubted that I would ever really be ready for this; someone else to take over my life, if even for just a short time, long enough for me to die. I remembered once thinking that dying in place of someone you love is not a bad way to go. I would just have to think of dying as a human to live as a vampire with the one as an equally acceptable outcome. I watched as Tanya descended the stairs. Alice always could work miracles when it came to hair and makeup, but this was different, Tanya's strawberry blonde locks were gone, replaced with a chestnut brown mane styled like mine and surrounding her face. She must have been wearing contacts because her golden eyes were dark brown. The resemblance was remarkable. I never would have believed it. When I was human she was so incredibly beautiful to me, but we were about the same size and build. With dark hair and dark eyes and Alice's makeup magic Tanya looked enough like me to fool the humans, despite that with vampire vision I could easily point out the distinctions.

"Well, if you don't get too close this might just work."

"Bella it will help that you spent a lot of time the first couple weeks off campus with me." Alice reminded me of that dark time.

"Mellissa should be able to give me a heads up as to who would know you and if I should avoid them. I'll try to make you some new friends, that way we'll have more people who remember seeing you on campus without the risk of anyone catching on."

"Edward, what do you think, will she pass for me?"

"Enough that I really think this is going to work."

"Tanya just remember to talk like you have had a sore throat, it'll help sell the illness and mask your voice." Jasper suggested looking up for the first time. "Don't worry, it'll work, humans don't pay that much attention to detail. You are both gorgeous, that's all that they will notice."

We both said 'thank you' in unison and laughed.

Emmett came in from playing Wii and announced his presence with a whistle. "Hot damn, Edward you have got to be having some wicked sick fantasies with this shit."

He just didn't learn. "Emmett, outside, I'm going to kick your ass. I've had it with you."

"Relax Bella; I just finished fixing the porch."

"Well then you'd think you would learn wouldn't you?" I was seething. I started to get up from the couch but Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back down into his lap.

"I've got the only fantasy I've ever had right here Emmett." By the time he finished kissing my neck I forgot why I was aggravated with Emmett this time.

Rosalie and Emmett were going to run down to Forks with Tanya and meet Jake. Then Jake would accompany Tanya to Seattle. Alice packed the magic makeup kit for Tanya, no doubt with complete instructions and I attached Jake's bracelet securely to her wrist. We wished Tanya luck and I thanked her for what she was about to do for me and for my human family and they were off. Tanya would live out the last weeks of my life and then Bella Swan, human, would exist no more.

As if on cue to start my new life, Kate and Eleazar, Edward, Jasper and Alice took me out to a large field for training. My task for today was to recognize my new capabilities. Eleazar explained that like my shield when I was human I would need to recognize and understand my new abilities before I could learn to control them.

"Don't worry about causing any damage Bella, this is our property." Jasper must have sensed my concern. I was worried, I knew what little exertion it took to cause me to shake the ground and bring trees crashing to the ground.

"Let's start with something easy, run with me from here to Alice and back again." Alice was already at the other end of the field, if I were still human I would not have been able to see her. Kate said go and I began running; Edward was ahead of me and I heard Jasper yell 'faster' and I pushed harder to gain on Edward. The ground started to shake and tremble beneath my feet. The trees lining the edge of the field were swaying and trembling. I concentrated on lightening my step and was nearly up to Edward when he ran past Alice and started heading back to Kate. Edward picked up speed and I heard Alice say "she's going to beat you" as I came up on her to turn around. I picked up speed again and concentrated on keeping my stride gentle and graceful. I easily passed Edward about half way to Kate. I could tell Edward was not taking it easy on me; I was beating him fair and square. Cool. I heard Jasper and Kate yelling, 'faster' and 'go Bella' as I neared Kate. As I crossed the finish line ahead of Edward Jasper grabbed me by the waist and twirled me around in a wide circle, "way to go Bella, no one has ever beaten Edward." My feet barely hit the ground and Edward was twirling me around, "Bella you did great." He wasn't the least bit upset about losing. "Feel like climbing a tree?"

"Umm, I don't know Edward, I'm afraid I'll knock it over."

"How about throwing the ball a bit then?"

"Ok, but I've never been very good at throwing or catching." In fact I couldn't remember a single time that I actually caught anything anyone ever threw to me before. Although my memories were fading and I was struggling to keep only the ones that I cherished by recalling them over and over again in my mind.

"Bella, just keep your eye on the ball." Alice showed me the ball and gently lobbed it to me.

I caught it. "Edward, I caught it did you see, I caught it." I jumped up and down in excitement shaking the ground under my foot and adjusted to compensate.

"Good job Bella, now throw it back to Alice."

"Not so hard." Alice yelled as she had to run to catch the ball. After about half an hour of throwing the ball to everyone in a big circle I had learned to gauge my strength and could throw the ball directly to a target and I could catch anything within about a twenty-five foot radius without much effort.

"Alright, you ready to test your strength?" Jasper finally asked; he was getting crabby.

"Alright I'll try."

"Throw the ball as hard as you can right at the boulder."

"What boulder?"

"The boulder at the far end of the field."

"Jasper that boulder is over one hundred feet away."

"Very good, it's one hundred seven feet from where you are standing right now."

"I'll never make it."

"Wanna bet?"

"Yes." Jasper was crazy, there was no way I could make that, he was getting testy and starting to annoy me.

"Fine, Bella if I'm right you have to carry me back home, I you are right, I'll carry you."

"You're on Jasper." Edward shook his head and laughed.

I hit the boulder dead center splitting it into two; fragments of rock flew in every direction.

"YES!!!" Jasper was gloating.

"Keep it up and I just might drop you."

Edward snuck up behind me and hugged me, wrapping his arms around me and kissed my cheek. "Bella, that was awesome, how did it feel?"

"Pretty cool, actually."

"You are doing really well love."

"Thanks Edward."

"Let's see how fast you can run with Jasper on your back. Race you home." He kissed the top of my head and took off running. I paused only long enough to fling Jasper onto my back. I set out at a full run, my feet barely touched the ground and I was feeling more in control and confident although I knew it would take months to gain consistent control over my strength and temper. As long as I had Edward and my new family I felt confident that in time it would come. Japer sent a wave of encouragement to me and I realized that Jasper was turning out to be a great friend. Rosalie and I had found a new common ground, it seemed that because I didn't want this and was changed despite my wishes we now had more in common, I felt like we were on the road to a real relationship now. I'd even grown very close to Kate and Tanya and unexpectedly Eleazar, he had taken on a grandfatherly role.

"Bella, aren't you starving?" Jasper asked over my shoulder. "Your throat should be burning, after all that exercise and concentration you should need to feed.'

"No, I don't feel hungry or the burning Jasper."

"Hmm, why don't you drop me off here, I am going to grab a bite before heading home."

"Ok."

Edward beat me back to the house but not by much. If I hadn't stopped to let Jasper off I would have easily beaten him. "Jasper was hungry, he went to eat" I explained when Edward looked quizzically, I didn't want him to think that I actually dropped him.

Emmett and Rose were back from Forks and Tanya and Jake had left for Seattle. Jake would call once they were settled in. The waiting began.

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**I know a little cliffy, what can I say. I hope you are enjoying the sequel/continuation of Darkest Before Dawn. Please let me know what you think so far. I am going to gauge how far to go with this story based on the reviews, so Please Please review. It's easy just hit that little button below and tell me what you think....**


	6. Chapter 5 The Gift of My Past

**A/N: I hear tell that my story Darkest Before Dawn was nominated in the Indie awards, I guess the more nominations it receives the more likely it will pass to the next stage, so if you please, visit and vote. ****_www dot theindietwificawards dot com_ ****or vote for your other eligible favorites. Voting closes 6/23/09.**

**Thank you for the reviews and all the alerts and favorites I really appreciate it.**

Chapter four

The Gift of My Past

"Bella, will you go for a walk with me?"

"Of course Edward." I wanted to spend time alone with him and I knew he felt the same. We walked at a slow leisurely pace, faster than human but obviously in no hurry to get anywhere. I was enjoying the scenery and was becoming accustomed to the sounds and smells of the woods. Tuning things out was starting to become easier although it still required concentration. Edward had explained that soon it would be second nature. My strength was not waning yet and I could look forward to that for at least the first year. Edward's fingers intertwined with mine and he slowed the pace slightly. He was looking straight ahead and smiling. With his chin he pointed towards something in front of us. I looked in the direction he was looking and saw a blanket spread out on the ground. In the middle was a box with a red bow on top. "Ooh, Edward a surprise for me? I like surprises."

"Good to know, love." He smiled, making me melt just a little more.

I made my way to the blanket and sat in front of the box. Edward stood looking down at me. I patted the ground next to me. I wanted to share this with him and wanted him to be next to me. I had a feeling I would want to thank him properly and was a little concerned I'd forget to concentrate if I had to stand up to thank him. Edward settled next to me and moved a stray hair from my face pushing it behind my ear, smiling.

"Go ahead, open it love."

Eagerly I removed the lid to the box and unfolded tissue paper. I was stunned. I was staring at a picture of Renee, Charlie and me. I could not remember the occasion. There was a photo album underneath filled with pictures of Renee, Charlie, Jake, friends from Phoenix and Forks.

"Oh Edward. Thank you."

"It's the least I could do Bella."

Underneath the pictures were one of Charlie's uniform shirts folded neatly, Renee's necklace she had given me when I left to live with Charlie, the cactus that I brought from Phoenix and a framed picture of Jake and me from prom. If I still had the ability to cry I would be sobbing. It was my life in a box. Some of my best memories; something tangible to hold onto from Charlie and Renee. A ringing sound came from the bottom of the box. I dug under the contents and pulled out a cell phone. Edward had to help me to answer it, I was shaking so badly.

"Hello Bella."

"Jake?"

"I see you got your new phone."

"Yes, now there is no excuse for us not to talk, he bought us both phones." I smiled at Edward and he kissed the top of my head.

"Hi Jacob. Bella, I programmed Jacob's number into your phone's speed dial. Sorry Jacob, you got number 2, mine is programmed as number 1 Bella. Mellissa's phone number is there, as well as Sam and Emily's and the rest of the family's numbers.

"Thank you." I smiled and mouthed to him.

"Jake are you in Seattle yet?"

"Yes, we just got here. Tanya passed the first test. The pack thought it was you at first. Mellissa was a better test; she's the first human to see Tanya as you. She is extremely encouraged; she keeps asking if it is really Tanya. They just left to go walk the halls and see how it goes."

"Ok, call me tonight and let me know how it goes today. Jake, how is Charlie?"

"He's fine; Billy had him out fishing while the others were here so we didn't chance Charlie seeing you, ah, Tanya. He'll get your letter tomorrow and he told Billy that you were sick. He thought about driving to Seattle to check on you but Billy talked him out of it. He told him he had to let you take care of yourself that you'd call him if you needed him. Oh, tell Edward, we got lucky; there was another animal attack on the other side of town. A couple of hunters, they didn't get hurt, their camp just got destroyed. Idiots didn't hang their food. Charlie's talking about it nonstop."

"That's good Jake, it will help."

"I'll call you later, bye."

"Bye."

"Oh Edward, thank you, thank you, I love it all. It is so perfect." I peppered his cheeks with kisses.

"I'm glad you like it. Rosalie grabbed the shirt and pictures from Charlie's and Jake brought the plant and photos from your dorm. I want you to have some memories; I thought it would help if you had something of theirs. I always wished I had something of my parents. Jasper once went to his parents and stole his father's boots so that he would have something to remember. I know it has helped him."

"It is perfect, and thanks for the phone and for being so good to Jake."

"Call him anytime you want Bella, your other friends that you can call too, it might help you to remember for longer and it will be easier for you if you can continue those relationships. None of us has ever been able to do that so we are hoping this might make things easier for you."

"Come here you." Edward leaned closer and kissed the top of my head again while I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him. I so wanted to kiss him, explore his mouth with my tongue, caress his chest, and run my fingers through that tousled mess of auburn and bronze hair. I could smell his almond and honey and sunshine scent and was intoxicated by it, breathing it in deeply and saving it for later. I watched his lips curl up in that amazing crooked smile and the whites of his perfect teeth wink at me. There was so much love radiating from him as he smiled for me that I felt dizzy, drunk, from the effects of it. He leaned closer and I felt the cool breath swirl between our mouths. I had to have those lips on mine now; I could not bear to wait any longer, pulling him closer to me. His hand reached up my back slowly, evenly, firmly, gently until it braced my neck and he leaned closer still, forcing me to lay back into his waiting hand. Our faces mere centimeters from each other as we reclined back on to the blanket in unison. I could not take it anymore the anticipation was too much, I eagerly licked at my lips and pulled him on top of me. He kissed me in a way I have never known. It was like fire licking at my lips, heating me from my core. My mind raced to try to restore reason to my otherwise numb torso causing the most delicious delirium to encircle me. Just when I thought I was actually in heaven he intensified the kiss moaning into my mouth. OH yes, this was definitely heaven, I didn't care if I ever came back from this journey, nothing else mattered but him, his lips on mine. I returned the intensity and felt the most intense lust, longing, wanting and everything around me faded into varying shades of gray and darkened dragging me under….

"Bella, love; Bella."

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know; she must have passed out."

"How long as she been like this?"

"It's been at least ten minutes."

"Carlisle, Jasper, please, help me. What is wrong with her?"

"Edward, when is the last time she fed?" Jasper demanded angrily.

"Stop yelling." Why in the name of all that is holy are Japer and Carlisle here now? Weren't we on the verge of something just a tad personal?

"Bella, are you ok?"

"What happened?"

"I don't know, I think you passed out, I've never seen a vampire pass out before. I couldn't wake you and I called Carlisle and Jasper for help."

"Jasper, any ideas?" Carlisle was clearly not coming up with anything on his own.

"Bella, have you eaten?" Jasper demanded

"Not today, no."

"Is your throat burning?"

"No."

"What were you doing before it happened?"

"Uhh, well, um." Edward was being the gentleman, protecting my honor.

"Kissing." I didn't care if he knew we were kissing. When you live with a coven of vampires, there is no privacy, so they will all know sooner or later anyway.

"And you made her pass out? Good grief maybe it's a good thing you were such a prude when she was human. I can't imagine what you would have done to her then." Jasper was teasing Edward.

"Well maybe it was the lack of nourishment and the um, excitement that caused her to pass out." Carlisle looked a little embarrassed.

"Edward, even if she isn't telling you that she is hungry she has got to eat more often. You need to make sure that she is fully nourished." Jasper was angry and demanding.

"Jasper why is she not experiencing the hunger or the burn, it doesn't make sense."

"I don't know." Jasper disappeared as soon as he said it.

"What is wrong with Jasper?"

"What do you mean love?"

"He's extremely agitated, confused and hungry; I mean did you see his eyes, they were black as coal and crazed."

"Bella love, how do you know that?"

"What do you mean; I can feel it pouring out of him."

"Bella, what do you mean you can feel it?" Carlisle joined Edward in drilling me for explanations I didn't have.

"I don't know, I can feel it, can't you? Is that not normal?"

"Carlisle!"

"I don't know Edward."

"Bella, can you 'feel' what anyone else feels, or is it just Jasper?" Carlisle seemed to be onto some theory working its way around in his head, while Edward nodded.

"I don't know, I hadn't noticed it, except, well except, well, I don't know. I'm not sure if I was feeling Edward's feelings or mine just before I passed out."

"Carlisle what is going on?"

"I don't know; get her back to the house. I'm going after Jasper."

"Edward is there something wrong with me?" I knew it was too good to be true. I knew there had to be something wrong with me; I mean who did I think I was that I alone could transform into a newborn vampire and not suffer the malignant burning in my throat and lust for human blood. Of course there had to be some reason. I could not just be that lucky.

"Bella, I don't know what's going on. I've never seen a vampire pass out. I thought the throat burning would come or that maybe you weren't experiencing it because you knew ahead of time what you were becoming and knew you would never hunt for human blood. I just don't know, but that doesn't mean something is wrong with you. Maybe you are shielding yourself from the hunger."

"Is that possible?"

"Bella, I just don't know, let's get home and talk with the others."

"Ok, maybe we should hunt on the way home, I don't want to upset Jasper, he's very concerned with my eating habits it seems."

Edward picked up my gifts returning them to the box and securing the lid. I helped him to fold the blanket and he carried the lot while we headed out to hunt and to make our way home.


	7. Chapter 6 The Gift of My Future

Chapter six

The Gift of My Future

His eyes were confused, worried, and cautious but no longer appeared crazed; the color back to their golden hue. He was visibly upset but it was more than just visible; I could sense it coming off of him in waves. There was no longer the fierce hunger, he must have fed.

"Hi Jasper, sorry Carlisle had to cut your hunt short, but I'm glad you had enough time to feed."

"No, Carlisle found me before I had a chance to feed. We came straight back. I'm sorry for running off on you like that."

"But, your eyes, they are, I don't understand, you were primal with hunger and your eyes were black when you left us and now you're, well, you're not hungry." It was as though the entire world was upside down, nothing was making sense, it was like two and two were suddenly seven.

"Bella, perhaps you better explain to Jasper how you know that." Edward prodded. He really was genuinely concerned and I know he was worried about me.

"I can feel it, you're confused and worried but you are not hungry." It was hard to explain why I knew what he felt or how it worked, I just knew.

"Holy Shit. Bella what do you mean you can feel it?"

"I don't know; when you were at the clearing with us I could feel what you were feeling, hungry, agitated and confused but now you are just confused, but I don't feel the hunger rolling off of you like before." The confusion was growing.

"Bella is this the first time you felt my emotions?"

"I don't think so, I think I felt it when we were training, when you picked me up and spun me around, were you proud and excited?" I remember feeling it and feeling secure and loved because of it.

"Yes. I was very proud of you Bella."

"And when my throat wasn't burning, you were confused and, maybe aggravated?" I didn't want to admit it before, but there was no denying it, it was true, I was feeling Jasper's emotions.

"Yes."

"Then it isn't the first time I felt your emotions Jasper."

"Have you felt anyone else's? Have you felt Edwards?"

"I'm not sure, when we were kissing just before I passed out I felt overwhelming passion, love, lust but I'm not sure if it was just me." I didn't know whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing if I could feel Edward's emotions, if I could feel what he felt and that intensity made me pass out, he'd never kiss me, never put me in harm's way. I would just have to hope that I couldn't feel his emotions.

"Is that the only time?"

"Yes." Wait, maybe I wasn't feeling Edward's emotions, maybe that was all me. Surely I would have felt him before.

"Oh shit."

"What, what does it mean, was I feeling Edward's emotions too?"

"Well, I don't know, I'm betting that is what Edward was feeling but uhm, well, so was I. Alice and I were back at the house and, well, just before Edward called we were uh…."

"Oh my god. I felt your passion Jasper. Oh no, Oh hell no. Now I feel embarrassment." Oh this is too much ughh.

"Yeah, that sounds right."

"Jasper what the hell is going on?" Poor Edward, he was going to feel awful.

"Well for some reason Bella is feeling my emotions."

"But why yours, why no one else's, why not mine?" Please tell me Edward is not jealous of Jasper.

"I hate to further complicate things but, Bella did you feed on the way back to the house?"

"Jasper, you have been overly concerned with my eating habits, so yes, we hunted on the way back, what is it?"

"Well, you know how you are not feeling hunger or the burn?"

"Yes."

"When I took away your burn during the transformation I absorbed the burn, the pain of your transformation, somehow I took that on permanently."

"Oh Jasper, no, oh god, no, that can't be. Why, why did you do that for me?" Why would he do that for me and put himself through that.

"Bella, I love you like a sister, I know you didn't want this, you didn't deserve for this to happen to you. It was in my power to make it easier for you and of course I would do that for you. I had no idea it would last beyond the burn, but honestly Bella I still probably would have done it, that pain is too unbearable for a human to endure."

"But Jasper, what about you? You had to go through that a second time."

"It's not the same for a vampire, Bella."

"So what happened?"

"I believe that some type of transference occurred between us, I absorbed your pain from you and projected my emotions onto you to get you through the transformation. Now it seems you are continuing to feel my emotions and it seems I am experiencing your hunger."

"Jasper, it is only her hunger though right, you didn't feel her uhm, any other emotions did you?"

"I think so Edward."

"Does that mean I am never going to know when I'm hungry? No wonder you've been so obsessed with my feeding, you've been suffering when I don't eat."

"Jasper have you been experiencing the entire newborn burn and hunger?" Edward asked still reeling from the shock of Jasper's pronouncement.

"It is not as bad as when I transformed but I am experiencing the burn and hunger whenever Bella is hungry. It's worse when she doesn't feed. Bella, you are not sensing hunger from me now because you fed."

"Ok, Jasper you have to tell me the minute you start to feel the burn in case I don't sense it and I'll eat. I'll feed everyday to keep you from feeling that. Oh, Jasper I am so sorry."

"Bella, darlin', please don't worry, we will work something out."

"Jasper, has this never happened to you before? I mean you have sired hundreds, if not thousands, has this never happened before now?"

"No Carlisle, not like this. I have never cared about a human I changed and I certainly never before used my powers to try to ease a newborns transformation. I've never experienced another newborn's hunger or burn. Although there is one I sired that shares a mutated version of my gift."

"Well, we can work around the hunger now that we know, but what are we going to do about the transfer of emotions to Bella and what does all this have to do with Bella passing out?" Edward was right; we were no closer than we were before to figuring out why I passed out in the first place.

"Well it might be as simple as lack of nutrients. If Bella isn't feeling hunger she doesn't know how not feeding affects her. Bella, you said before that Jasper was very hungry, that was actually you, so maybe it was just that you hadn't eaten. Newborns are typically feeding more than anything else. Let's wait and see if it happens again, now that you will be feeding more regularly."

As long as I don't pass out every time Edward kisses me; how truly embarrassing. I want there to be more kissing. Hopefully he isn't so freaked out that he puts back on the Kidd gloves and refuses to kiss me like that again. I couldn't go back to those chaste kisses from when I was human I remember enough to know they were never truly satisfying. No, that kiss was so much more, I want that.

"Umm Bella." Jasper winked at me and I struggled to gain control over the lust creeping its way back up.

"You're probably right Carlisle, I used to get lightheaded if I didn't eat when I was human, and this is probably something that carried over. I promise I'll eat daily and whenever Jasper is hungry."

Jasper hid a snicker behind Carlisle's back and gave me another wink. Oh, this is going to be interesting.

"Well, it looks like you two will be hunting together for awhile so that Bella can gauge the hunger while she feeds."

"Absolutely, we will all go out together for awhile Edward. I think you two could probably use a little privacy now since you were interrupted before." Jasper pulled Carlisle out the door and flashed me a wicked grin and a wink. He was awfully amused with himself.

"So, where were we Bella?"

Hmm, so he wasn't going to act like the overprotective care taker after all. I need to start giving him more credit. He has changed. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. Running his fingers through my hair and pulling me gently backwards into his waiting arms encircling me, breathing in the scent of my hair, hugging me tight to his hard chest.

"I love you Bella. Don't worry, we will figure out a way to deal with all of this. I'll help you in any way I can, you just name it. Jasper can help you if you want; he has years of practice dealing with the emotions of others, besides it looks like it is only his emotions that you will have to deal with. That should make it easier. He can control his emotions better than anyone." He planted little kisses down my neck starting right behind my ear and trailing to the back of my neck and back to my shoulder and down my right arm, holding my arm out parallel to the floor. I leaned back into him and bent my arm at the elbow reaching behind me grabbing for Edward. Catching my hand and turning me to face him he pulled me close and leaned in to resume kissing me. Lightly at first, gently, building slowly, growing in intensity until our lips moved together in the most passionate dance. The yearning growing, driving us on. Oh yes, this was the kiss I've waited for, longed for, needed. This was the kiss I would look forward to for all eternity; this kiss was the gift I always wanted. This kiss was our future.


	8. Chapter 7 Trust

**Disclaimer, Stephanie Meyer owns all recognizable characters and storylines. I am thrilled with the Indie nomination this story has received for Humor in a WIP. If you agree, I would consider it an honor to receive your vote. Details are on my profile page.**

**This is a replacement and improved chapter Seven. With some luck I managed to get the assistance of a great Beta. So with SavageWoman's mad skills, I think this chapter is more up to par and I can finally stop fretting and get back to writing. Hopefully with SavageWoman's continued Beta prowess the next chapters will find themselves improved.**

Chapter Seven

Patterns

Twilight was always Edward's favorite time of day and it had quickly become mine as well. We had fallen into a familiar pattern that was comfortable for both of us. Just before that bewitching hour tolled, setting a colorful hue, we'd set out to feed, just the two of us. It was our one time alone together to hunt. I had become more careful to eat more often so that Jasper would not suffer the consequences any more than necessary. We all hunted together early in the day, but this was our time. After ravaging the surrounding forest, I had hoped Jasper's suffering diminished. I tended to dwell on that after every meal. Usually Edward gave me that time to lose myself in my thoughts but tonight he seemed tense, nervous and, for the death of me, I couldn't figure out why. About the time I stopped wondering he apparently gathered the courage to articulate what was on his mind.

"Do you remember before the fight Bella, I asked you if you would do something when it was all over?"

"What, Edward? What did you ask me?" The details were fuzzy but I did recall that I was excited about something.

"Bella, I asked you if you would be willing to go on a date with me." Edward shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. He had never looked hotter to me than right then, nervous and vulnerable and I would swear he bit his lower lip. It made me weak in the knees.

"Oh?" I knew it was just a tad cruel but I was enjoying seeing him squirm. It made him so attractive.

"Do you remember?" Edward ran his hands through his hair creating more of a mess of the disheveled locks.

"Remind me, what did I say?" I looked at my feet, afraid if I looked him in the eyes I'd giggle and the attempts to be coy would be lost. So, I was playing with him, and I liked it, was it wrong?

"You wholeheartedly agreed my little vixen." Ah, he was on to me.

"Did I? I simply don't recall; you'll have to refresh my memory." Let's see if he'll continue to play along. I slowly started to walk away slowly running my hand over the trunk of the tree I passed.

"Isabella Marie Swan, would you do me the honor of accompanying me on Friday evening; I would consider it my privilege to enjoy the pleasure of your company." I turned back to face him half expecting his crooked grin but instead found him on one knee, right hand over his still heart and his left outstretched to me; his liquid golden eyes begging. I accepted his outstretched hand and leaned down sitting on his knee.

"It would be my pleasure Edward Masen Cullen." Mmmm, I think we were about to find out if lack of nutrients were in any way, shape, or form related to my passing out.

************************************************************

It seemed strange to think of a first date with Edward; I'd been in love with him for so long. It was true though, we never really 'dated' before. We hung out, but never really dated. I was excited and nervous. What were we going to do? It wasn't as if we could go to a restaurant or anywhere else with humans around. What should I wear? I decided to ask Rosalie and Alice for advice.

"Edward, I'll see you later I need some girl time." I got up from the couch and went in search of Rose and Alice.

Of course, Alice met me at the stairs. "Oh goody, we are going to play dress up."

"No, I am going to ask for advice and you are going to give it and then I will be making a decision.

"Ugh, you are no fun Bella." Alice spun on her heels and headed back up the stairs toward her room.

Rose came out into the hallway and winked at me. We followed Alice into her room.

"Okay, so what's going on Bella?" Rosalie sat at the edge of Alice's bed while Alice opened her closet.

"I'm going on a date with Edward."

"Ah, what will you two be doing?" Rosalie looked worried.

"I'm sure he won't be taking me into any populated areas, relax." I gave her a wry smile.

"I'm sorry Bella, I am excited for you – I am." Rose walked to the closet and started looking around. "Alice you are too short, these pants will be Capri's on Bella. Come on, let's go to my room."

"When is the date?" Alice pouted that we were leaving her closet.

"Friday night." I felt the beginnings of butterflies in my stomach.

"Let's do a Spa day Friday. I could use a mani/pedi, and Alice you can do our hair." Rosalie was excited as she talked about it. "So Bella, do you think this will be it, you know do you think you two will finally, um, consummate the deal?" Rose giggled. "Because if so, you might need to make some preparations."

"Rosalie Hale." I gave her my best shocked gasp.

From downstairs Edward called up, "Bella, I'm going out with the boys, you girls apparently need some privacy."

By the time we finished laughing and I got over the fact that the love of my life was now most assuredly thinking about sex we had wasted half an hour of our girl time. "Ok, so just in case, and I am NOT saying it will be Friday, but um, well, anything I need to know, I'm worried about my strength, I would be mortified if I hurt Edward having sex."

"Oh Bella, please stop, if I laugh any more I am going to scream." Alice continued giggling like a hyena. "Do you want me to check?"

"No, don't you dare be looking for that," I almost screeched. If I could still blush, I'm sure my face would be red as a beet.

"Alright, relax." Evil little pixie.

"Bella, it's like anything else with your new powers, you will need to concentrate a bit more, but I hardly see Edward as the rough type, so I'm sure at first it will be slow and sweet and gentle anyway. If you get lucky maybe you can open him up a little, in time, for the fun stuff." Rose wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at me.

"Rose, please," I laughed in embarrassment.

"Well, forever is a really long time Bella." Rose's tone was completely serious now. "Bella, if you really think it might happen, we can all disappear, it might make it a little easier for you. It can be difficult at first with everyone around, but believe me we've all gotten very good at blocking out each other's personal space when it comes to that. We usually all take advantage of the times the others are hunting."

"Oh my god, Jasper." What the hell am I going to do about Jasper, will he feel my emotions, will he experience my, oh hell!

"What about my Jasper, Bella?" Alice looked more than slightly confused as my worries had not yet become clear to her.

"What if he experiences some of my _other_ emotions?" I mumbled.

"What like lust? He feels lust from all of us Bella, and love and frustration and everything else. He is very good at ignoring it Bella." Alice still didn't get it.

"That's not exactly what I mean Alice." I looked down at my hands, not sure how to explain this.

"Oh no, I think I see where she is going Alice, Bella you are concerned that since he suffers from your hunger he might also experience your pleasure, right?" Rosalie hit the nail on the head.

"Yeah, that's just too sick. I would never be able to do it." But was it possible?

"Oh, I see. That could be a problem. Well, he could always just leave. Hell, wait, can you feel his, um, oh shit." Alice was beginning to catch on.

"Well, unless you guys are into foursomes, this is going to get quite tricky." Rosalie laughed at her suggestion.

Alice wasn't laughing. What the hell was she thinking; surely she wasn't even considering that as a possibility. "Um, Alice, what's going on?"

"ALICE!!" The thought was just too much.

"Sorry, I need to go think about this." She was half way out the door by the time she finished her sentence.

"What's with her?" Rosalie huffed.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think we are going to like it, whatever it is." Alice had me worried. She had a look in her eyes I have never seen before, almost as if she were angry or threatened.

"So what are your wardrobe recommendations Rose?" I quickly added before Rose could comment further on Alice's expression.

Rosalie helped me to pick out the perfect outfit for my date with Edward. We settled on faded boot cut jeans, a royal blue cashmere sweater and a white down vest. Since we couldn't possibly be going to any place fancy we decided casual was the most fitting. We made plans for a spa day on Friday and called Kate to see if she wanted to join us. After she got over being giddy about my date with Edward she agreed and was in for the Spa idea. Seriously these vampires needed to get a life; they were all living just a little too vicariously through the relationship between Edward and I.. Kate insisted I call Tanya to let her know the good news. I hadn't talked to Tanya or Jake in two days so it was time for an update anyway.

I called Tanya and told her about my upcoming date and she was thrilled with the progress Edward and I were making. It was actually good to talk to her about it. She didn't make it awkward and made me feel better about the physical aspects. I felt better when Tanya suggested that Edward would probably not be expecting that at this stage, he'd most likely want to take things slower for now. I had to agree with her, I didn't think he would be ready, and if I thought about it I didn't think I was either. Not that I didn't want to, but I still felt like we needed to get our relationship on a more solid footing before we moved on. After all, nothing really changed just because I was a vampire now, we still had issues to work through and sex now would complicate things.

Tanya reported that things were going very well in Seattle and informed me that I had a few new friends. I was a bit sad that I'd never actually meet them because they sounded exactly like the friends I would have chosen if I were there.

I was most excited to learn that I earned the only A in the class on my Casanova paper and a note from the professor complimenting me on the depth and development of my analysis. I was thrilled. Tanya agreed with his assessment and said that the paper was brilliant and that meant more to me than the professor's grade since she had more insight. I asked her if she agreed with my reading of Edward and she told me I was spot on. I took it as a compliment.

The time for the final steps was quickly approaching. Tanya had interacted with the faculty and provided clear evidence of "Bella Swan's" presence, alive and well, on campus. It was Monday, so by Friday Tanya would be leaving Seattle and meeting up with Jake to stage the attack. I could count down the days until my official death. My still heart ached for Charlie and Renee.

Tanya was fascinated to hear about my connection to Jasper and wondered if I was on the right track with my concerns about experiencing one another's pleasure as well as pain. She reasoned that it was a more likely reason for my passing out, if I was experiencing both his and my own lust at once. Tanya suggested an experiment, but I wasn't sure about that.

I spoke to Melissa and she reiterated that no one on campus had any inkling that it was not me running around as Bella Swan. I wasn't sure how that made me feel, but honestly I just couldn't dwell on it, there were too many other things to worry about. Mellissa sounded good and was head over heels crazy about Jake. Seriously she wouldn't shut up about how wonderful he was. Did she forget that I knew all that already? I told her all about my experiences as a newborn vampire and mostly she laughed at the irony and my temper problems with Emmett. It felt good to laugh. She told me about who was hooking up with whom at school, and I realized that I didn't really remember half of these people. I made her promise to order me a yearbook and circle the people that I knew before I left.

By the time I wandered back down stairs the boys were back and Jasper reminded me that I was hungry. Alice had not returned so we decided to try hunting just the two of us. Edward thought it was a good idea so we were off.

Once we were a good distance away from home, I asked Jasper if we could talk.

"Sure Bella, what's bothering you?" He turned to face me.

"I guess it will always be that obvious with you won't it?" I let out a little sigh of resignation.

"Afraid so, honey." Jasper's face fell still, he didn't smile, didn't frown, just expressionless.

"I think we need to figure out just how far the emotion sharing thing goes. I'm worried about what other emotions or needs we might be sharing." I wasn't sure how this was going to work out.

"Yeah, I kinda sensed that back at the house form you and Rose, Edward has been terrified about that since the whole connection became clear. I don't think you passed out because you were hungry." Oh hell, Jasper felt it too.

"How are we going to, uh, oh hell Jasper, what are we going to do?"

"Bella, I'm pretty sure that I was experiencing your emotions just before you passed out too. I mean it was more intense than normal for me and I didn't realize what was going on at the time. I just thought that maybe Alice and I had hit some new level of, hell I don't know what I thought. I just never guessed I was feeling your experience. What I feel from you, it is entirely different from the way I feel emotions of everyone else. With everyone else I get a sense of their emotions, with you, I feel them as my own; I can't really explain it any better than that."

"Oh Jasper."

"Can you please eat Bella, you are famished and it hurts." He tried to give me a smarmy grin, but it didn't work.

"Ok, tell me when I'm full!" I flew off in the direction of a herd of caribou. Eight beasts later Jasper assured me that both of us were fully satiated and we headed home.

"Don't worry Bella, we'll figure something out. I think it might be best if Alice and I kept our activities to a minimum for now whenever you and Edward are in the house."

"Thanks, Jasper, I'd say we'd do the same, but well, that wouldn't take much."

***********************************************************

"So did you and Jasper work anything out Bella?" Edward asked while he perused his music selections for the CD he wanted.

"I don't know. We're are going to keep any eye on things and let each other know if anything new develops." I don't want to lie to Edward, this was true, there was just more to the story I wasn't ready to talk about until we were sure.

"Bella, don't worry about me, I am ok with giving you and Jasper whatever space you need to work this out. I trust you; there is no reason for you to worry about me, ok?"

"Thank you Edward, I know this is confusing."

"Bella, I love you and I trust you. I am going to stay out of this unless you ask for my help, so if I don't say anything it isn't because I am mad, upset, hurt or anything else, I just want to give you the space you need. Bella if you ask for my help I will do anything for you."

"I love you Edward. Thank you."

"Feel like kissing?" Edward's voice was seductive.

I smirked at his one-track mind. "Always, but now isn't the best time, let's wait until Jasper goes out, just in case." I trailed my hand across his chest

He held my gaze as he yelled, "Jasper, get the hell out!! There he should be gone now." He reached out to grab my hand.

"Edward!" My attempt to appear indignant and shocked failed miserably as I grinned.

"What, I want to kiss you," he laughed, holding his hands up in the air innocently.

Jasper laughed loud enough for us to hear as he said, "See ya' all later – don't waste my time."

Edward was on top of me in a fraction of a second, kissing up my neck tenderly. Moaning my name and nibbling on my earlobe was making the need inside me grow exponentially. I tried to remember what Tanya and Rosalie had said about concentrating on being gentle but the distraction of Edward's tongue sending shivers down my spine was a little much.

"Slow down, don't stop, but slow down so I don't lose control," I said breathlessly.

"No, I want you to lose control, that's kind of the point you know," he shot back, not missing a beat, or rather, a kiss.

"Mmmm, the hell with control." I moaned as he did that thing I loved.


	9. Chapter 8 Trouble at Home

Disclaimer: I don't own, bummer.

A million thanks to my awesome Beta, she catches the big and the small keeping me from embarrassing my self and in lightening quick speed. **SavageWoman**, you rock. Enjoy the chapter, as I promised I would give notice for my younger readers, it's going to start earning its rating, but nothing too bad (yet :) ).

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Chapter Eight

Trouble at Home

Kissing Edward was certainly my new favorite activity. Now that is was possible, I lost myself in the freedom of inhibition. Edward was no longer scared to death to touch me and no longer felt a need to keep it chaste. For reasons I couldn't ignore, I had the nagging feeling that we were getting ahead of ourselves though. As much as I wanted to spend a lot of time – okay who was I kidding, all of my time – making out with Edward; I had to acknowledge that there were still things we needed to resolve. And until we did that, slowing down on the physical part or our relationship was probably a good idea.

Grateful for the privacy of my own bedroom, I spent some time looking through the photo albums of my life as a human. From the photos, I could follow the stages of Renee's crazy obsessions throughout the years. There were pictures for the macramé stage, pottery phase, and the yoga phase. The time she got into scrapbooking was the best because there were actually quite a few pictures. Charlie's pictures all looked the same, fishing pole in hand or in his uniform. The pictures of him during the time I had lived in forks with him seemed the happiest, second only to the ones where the three of us were still together.

A stark realization hit me as I looked at the pictures of Jake. We worked so well because we were always so open with one another. If I thought something, I said it. It was the same for Jake, if he was upset about something, he said so. I remembered our first fight. Jake was furious with me because I had not asked him to my prom. That was the last time we held something in. Jake didn't let me get away with brooding, he would always say "spill it Bells" and I'd laugh and that was it. I'd spill and we'd talk.

That was what was missing right now with Edward. We were still dancing on egg shells. He was so worried about being controlling or making my decisions for me, that he wasn't telling me his feelings. I was doing the same thing - I was holding back. That was what would destroy us in the end if we didn't stop it right now. I would have to find a way to express my concerns and get him to open up to me. Our date Friday would be the perfect time to start.

The guys were off hunting until Thursday morning and our Spa Day morphed itself into Spa Days. Alice found some things on line that she insisted we had to have, and boxes began arriving just after 9:00 a.m. That evil little pixie didn't do anything half way; it was always all or nothing with her. It was an endearing quality.

Rose was my hunting partner this morning, and we had plans to meet downstairs shortly, so I carefully packed away the photo albums ensuring that they were well preserved. After a quick shower and a wardrobe change, I flitted downstairs to meet Rose.

"Are you ready to hunt Bella?" Rose ghosted to the door and reached for the handle.

"Yeah, let's go." I needed to feed but I found myself distracted by my thoughts of Edward.

Rosalie was out the door and heading to the woods. She was sure in some hurry. I caught up to her quickly and ran along side her until we hit the woods.

"What gives Rosalie? What's the hurry?" I wondered if it was just hunger or something more.

"I had to wait until I could get you alone, and I couldn't make any decisions about whether to tell you without alerting Alice. So please, just listen." Rosalie was overly excited about something as she spoke at vampire speed.

"OK, what is it?"

"Alice and Jasper had a fight. She is freaking out about the connection you two share. She wants him to think about going away for a while until you can learn to control your hunger on your own. She wants to remove him from the connection and your hunger. She demanded to know whether your connection includes sharing the more physical pleasures as well as the hunger. When he wouldn't answer, she threw a hissy fit. She won't tell anyone, but we think she has had a vision that scares her or threatens her somehow."

"What? That is ridiculous. If anyone should leave it should be me. Wait, does Edward know about this?" If he knew and kept this from me, we were doomed – right back to where we started.

"NO, no Bella he doesn't know yet. I think Emmett might tell him while they're gone. It's hard to say exactly because we can't make decisions or plans without Alice knowing. Alice and Jasper asked us not to say anything but we talked and agreed that it was not fair. You and Edward have a right to know and maybe then, we could all sit down and figure out what to do. We don't want to lose any one."

"Thanks Rosalie, I can't imagine what Alice has seen, but we can find a way to make this work without anyone leaving." This just kept getting worse. I think I preferred the three days of anguish over this.

"She's going to kill me when we get back; we better hunt." Rosalie sniffed the air and pointed in the direction of a herd of deer. In a flash she was running.

I followed Rosalie and together we finished the small herd off before returning home. I tried to think of a way to talk to Alice about what was happening without stepping on Jasper's toes. The last thing I wanted was to come between them.

Alice didn't give me a chance to talk about her feelings before the boys returned. She was too busy facilitating the spa treatments. There was facials, hair styling, seaweed wraps, paraffin dips, and massages on a bunch of vampires, it was completely absurd but an absolute riot. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life. It reminded me of the night in the woods then Tanya and Rosalie laid into the boys about their behavior, and we held our first impromptu girls night. Hearing Esmee tell dirty stories about the boys was hilarious. It made me miss Tanya and Mellissa.

At some point, and I'm not exactly sure when, it turned into 'give Bella tips on fucking a vampire'. For the love of all that is holy, these women were all rightfully sex goddesses. I was not. I would have been blushing for the entire conversation if that were still possible. I kept reminding myself that they all had decades of practice with no inhibitions. I knew that someday I might get there, but had no expectations of that day coming any time soon.

I tried to take it all in but then Rosalie suggested that they needed to buy a "toy box" starter kit for me. When Alice started describing the 'right' lingerie, I squealed. I actually squealed out loud! They were doubled over laughing at me and the next thing I knew I was growling at them.

Even though Kate managed to calm me down, my little outburst had effectively ended the spa treatments and girl talk. Thank God the boys would be home in a couple hours and I could hide for a while.

Kate walked me to my room, came in and shut the door.

"Bella, I know this is all new for you, and it might be too much to be talking about sex with Esme, Alice and Rosalie, but if you have serious questions, you know you can ask me. I won't tell anyone what we talk about. Well, with the unfortunate exception of Edward, and I won't do that willingly," Kate sat at the edge of the bed and whispered.

"Thank you Kate. Right now I'm not sure Edward and I are ready for that. We still need to work on the relationship. We seem to be falling into old patterns instead of learning from our past mistakes."

"I know it isn't my place but, the sexual tension between you two is pretty thick. Maybe you just need to relieve some of that tension. It could help the relationship come more easily." Kate wasn't being suggestive or lewd; she was being honest and sincere.

"Do you really think so?" Maybe she had a point. A lot of the tension between us, for me anyway, seemed to be that we weren't telling each other what we wanted. Maybe once we got past the sex part, all that sexual frustration would disappear and we would be able to talk about it more freely.

"Yes, Bella, you both seem to be afraid to take that final step and tell each other that you need one another physically. Just jump him already!" Kate jumped up from the bed before I could swat at her. With a mischievous grin, she laughed and left me in peace.

Reading stupid love stories was probably the worst thing I could do to myself right now, but I couldn't seem to help myself. I picked up Romeo and Juliet for the nine millionth time and started reading while lying across my bed. It was late in the night or early morning, depending on how you looked at it, and I listened to the sounds of nature around me. I lost myself in the colors reflecting off my bedroom walls in the moonlight while reading the angst of the lovers when Edward knocked on the door. I hadn't even heard them come home, but then realized Edward was the first one back.

Sensing my realization, Edward looked down to the floor and confessed, "Sorry, but I missed you, so I jumped out of the car and ran to get here faster." It was beyond cute. I kissed his lips, pulled him down next to me on the bed, and snuggled into his chest. Edward ran his hands slowly down my back while kissing the top of my head. Looking up to meet his eyes I scooted up his chest to meet his gaze. I licked my lips and Edward lost his composure, attacking my mouth, his tongue darting out demanding entrance I so willingly provided. Pressing our bodies closer to one another Edward's hands moved from my back to my stomach and began exploring their way up leaving a trail of heat in their path. I arched into him aching for his touch. I thought about Kate's words and reached out to caress Edward's chest, playing with the line of his hard pecs. Edward's hand was lost in the swell of my breast, circling round and round.

The garage opened and Emmett screamed out "Where are you baby?" Edward hissed and growled deep in his chest as his hand pulled away and lessened the kiss to chaste as he ended it.

"Shit." Edward rolled off of me and lay back on the bed next to me. We cuddled in bed just taking comfort in one another's presence. Edward looked at my book and said, "Reading? I'm going to grab a book too."

He rubbed soothing circles along my back as we each read our books. I thought about the doomed love of Romeo and his Juliet and smiled at the changes Edward and I made that would keep our love safe from what had once been certain doom. The soft feel of his hands on my back ignited small sparks of pure bliss and electricity on my skin wherever his fingers roamed. Not only did a delicious heat rise just under his touch, but it seemed to pulse from somewhere deeper inside myself. I wanted to feel Edward's hands all over my sensitive skin, to feel his lips, his tongue following the forbidden path down my neck, slowly lingering across my breasts enticing my nipples, trailing down my abdomen, and, with every second, nearing closer to the heat emerging form my very core. I moved my hips to get closer to him and felt my breath catch and hitch in my throat as the most intense pleasure flitted through my body causing my back to arch off the bed and a low moan to escape my dry lips. I heard myself emit a scream as my entire body convulsed, stiffened and trembled.

"What the fuck Bella?" Edward's voice jarred my eyes open and he looked at me in horror.

I bucked and arched my back again and panted. _What the hell?_

"JAPSER, GOD DAMN YOU!" Edward was out the door and down the hall before the sensations suddenly stopped. The feelings coursing through me left my body before shame, guilt, and embarrassment replaced them. Then the realization hit me.

_Holy shit!_

Jasper just brought me to an orgasm from across the damn house and right in front of Edward! Oh God, Edward is going to kill him.

I jumped off the bed and ran to Alice and Jasper's room. Rosalie grabbed me before I could get through the door.

Alice was screaming on the other side of the door, "See, I fucking told you so! I told you this was going to happen! Were you thinking about her while you made her scream, Jasper?"

"Fuck No, Alice! You know better than that! I was thinking about you, baby and I just got frustrated because I couldn't touch you. I was just taking a shower and started to fantasize about how much I wanted you, wanted to touch you, Alice. I wasn't thinking about what I was doing, and I… Oh fuck! Shit I am so sorry, Edward, Alice. Please I didn't mean it!"

"Damn it Jasper, this is so not cool. She better be ok or I swear I'm going to kill you." Edward's voice behind the closed door terrified me. He wouldn't really hurt Jasper would he?

"I'm fine, Edward. Can we please just go?" I pleaded, unable to take it any more. All I wanted to do was run and hide. Of course, Jasper didn't hurt me and it was extremely pleasurable. But eww! In effect, my brother-in-law just gave me my first vampire orgasm. It was true that everything as a vampire was more intense, but yuck! I wasn't going to be able to stop thinking about this. I could not, however, tell Edward that it was enjoyable in any way, shape, or form. But he witnessed the whole thing so there was no real way to hide it. He already knew.

_Fuskingshitsonofabitch! _

"Put on a damn towel would you please, you asshole! I'm getting Bella out of here!" Edward screamed at Jasper and slammed the door behind him as he came out into the hallway. Not one of us said a word. Even Emmett's eyes were wide as saucers and his mouth hung open. Rosalie just squeezed my shoulders and whispered a "good luck" into my ear low enough that no one else would have heard.

I grabbed Edward's hand and ran for the door. Once outside he picked me up and ran at full speed cradling me to his chest. I was grateful for the chance to think about what I could possibly say to him to make this better.


	10. Chapter 9 Snow Day

Disclaimer: I don't own, bummer.

A million thanks to **SavageWoman** my awesome Beta. This chapter is much better because of her. Enjoy the chapter, as I promised I would give notice for my younger readers, it earns its M rating.

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Chapter Nine

Snow Day

We reached a small open field in the forest, and Edward lowered me to my feet but didn't let go of me, still holding me to his chest. I wanted to stay buried there for eternity just breathing in his scent, feeling the hardness of his chest, and warming under his tender loving hold.

"Bella, I am so sorry. I was going to tell you later today when we had some privacy. Well, Emmett told me something kind of disturbing while we were gone and I think you should know," Edward whispered tenderly into the top of my head.

I smiled; he was going to tell me. Oh, thank God. I realized just how worried I was that Edward would keep it from me, but he didn't.

Edward continued while I just kept my head buried in his chest, "Alice had several visions, and although we don't know the exact nature, from what I've seen, she saw the family torn apart because of the connection between you and Jasper. I think what happened this morning was the start of it. Bella, you do realize what happened right?"

"I do now. I did not realize it was Jasper's emotions, his pleasure, and not my own until you said something. I was enjoying you, your touch, and just being next to you. I guess I was kind of, well, sort of, well… I was reading Romeo and Juliet and lying in bed with you touching me and I well, I was fantasizing about us. Edward, I am so sorry." Ugh, how embarrassing.

"Bella, I just wanted the first time to be me, not well, not anyone else, but especially not like that." Edward pushed me back a little to look down into my face.

"I know; that's not exactly the way I wanted to experience my first orgasm either." I left out as a vampire; some things really were not meant to be shared and now was not the time. "But honestly, Edward I was fantasizing about you. You were so close to me and you smelled so good. And I guess didn't realize that what I was feeling wasn't all me because my thoughts were certainly leading me to the same place. Ugh! This is so damn confusing." I threw my hands up in the air in frustration.

"Rosalie tried to tell me yesterday. She said that Alice and Jasper had a fight because of it. I don't want to break them up, but I don't know what to do. It's not as if either of us wanted this connection. I almost wish I could go back and stop it. I'd rather experience the burn for three days than to break up this family."

"So if you could go back and stop anything, it would be Jasper taking away the burn and not Victoria biting you?" Edward said teasingly.

"Absolutely. Edward, we are finally together – forever. I would never change that." I looked him dead in the eye and made sure my tone was just as serious.

"God, I love you." Edward kissed the top of my head.

"Edward, I think Alice is jealous. It makes no sense to me. Yes, Jasper and I now share this bizarre connection but that is all it is. She knows that right? She doesn't think that we would ever purposely…."

"Honestly, I don't know what she thinks exactly. Every time I'm close enough to hear her thoughts, she translates the Russian dictionary," Edward said with a chagrinned smile.

"You would never think that right?" I searched his eyes for proof of his trust. Edward's eyes widened as he tried to reassure me.

"Oh, hell no! I know you would never do something like that. It does make me a little jealous though. I mean I thought you passed out because of my mad kissing skills." He gave me a sheepish smile. "But, then he managed to get you off from the other side of the house for crying out loud. I know you both, and I know that you would never intentionally hurt Alice or me."

"Don't worry Edward. The way you kiss me makes me feel weak in the knees, dizzy and lightheaded… And, well, much better things than passing out. As for the other thing…" I bit my lower lip and batted my eyelashes at him. "We will just have to see about that – soon, I hope." Edward's lips turned up in a mischievous smirk.

"Oh really?" Edward started tickling me, and I squirmed under his hands not really trying to get away.

As we hunted on the way back to the house, Edward filled me in on the plans for our date. It sounded like so much fun and I was really looking forward to it. We were having a snow date. Edward told me there were some awesome hills that would be perfect for a toboggan, and he just so happened to bring one back from his trip with the guys. We agreed that we needed to go home and see if there was anything we could do to clear the air with Alice and Jasper. Then we were going to head out for our date earlier than we originally planned.

The house was empty when we returned.

I made a quick call to Jake to find out how the plans for my death were coming along. Jake was pissed that I was taking it so calmly. What did he expect me to do, dwell?

Tanya had arrived in LaPush in the morning, and they were readying the back-story. They had just come from dropping my note off at Charlie's and were getting ready to head out to the woods to stage the scene. Tanya was going to take a couple swipes at Jake with her nails. I was concerned about any venom transferring to Jake. Werewolves and venom – not a good combination. What if Jake phased and an actual fight started. No, I didn't like this idea at all.

"Jake, this is not a good idea. Put Tanya on the phone," I demanded.

"_Hi, Bella. Are you ready for this?" _Tanya asked with concern.

"Yeah, it needs to happen; they need and deserve the closure. But Tanya, I don't think it is a good idea for you to harm Jake physically in any way. He might phase as a result, and if you two killed each other, I would never forgive myself. Can't you let Sam give him the injuries? Besides, he'll heal so fast it won't really help. At least if it's Sam or one of the wolves they can do it on the way back from 'finding' him."

"_You know what, you're right. Maybe Jasper's strategic gifts are rubbing off on you too,"_ Tanya said with a chuckle.

"Oh, yeah, about that. Not a good topic of conversation at the moment." I picked at the hem of my shirt nervously.

"_Why, what happened?" _Tanya's question burned with curiosity.

"Um, well it turns out that Jasper umm, well he, umm…." Edward grabbed the phone from me.

"Tanya, its Edward. Dumbass Jasper was whacking off in the shower, and Bella here experienced the benefits of his self-pleasure, if you know what I mean." The scowl on Edward's face told me he was still a little upset about the whole thing.

"_No effing way! That stupid little shit. How badly is she freaking out?"_ God, I hated it when people talked about me as if I couldn't hear them. Hello – vampire hearing! It was my turn to pull the phone away from Edward.

"I am not freaking out," I protested while swatting Edward's hand away from the phone. "Alice is a little though. You'd better get home. I think we are going to need you." I frowned a bit as Edward slipped out of the room.

"_Oh for Fuck's sake I can't leave you alone for a minute. I'm leaving within the hour, hope you don't mind but I'm tired of playing Bella Swan. Tanya needs to return."_ Her voice was full of faux irritation.

"Very funny. See you tonight," I mocked

"_Bye. Go have fun on your date. Hope you get lucky." _ With that, Tanya hung up the phone.

Well, there really was no better way to spend the day while my old life ended, than by starting a brand new fun one with Edward. Charlie and Renee would not 'find' out what happened until late tonight or early tomorrow morning anyway. I was grateful to have a distraction.

"Ready to go love?" Edward poked his head in the door smiling.

"Yep, should I bring anything else?" I returned his smile.

"Nope, I've got everything in Emmett's Jeep." Edward extended his hand out to me and I took it.

As we drove out to a clearing where Edward planned to leave the Jeep, we sang along with the cranked-up radio like a couple of kids. We were both so excited. After Edward parked, we got out, and collected the toboggan, jackets, hats, and gloves in case we needed them for appearances, though we probably wouldn't.

We followed a path and climbed up the hill lugging the toboggan behind us. When we reached the top, Edward placed the toboggan down and sat in the back. He patted the space in front of him and held my hand while I climbed on in front between his legs, settling back into his chest.

Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my ear, whispering, "Are you ready love?"

I was so excited; I hadn't been on a toboggan since I was a toddler. I looked over the front and realized it was a pretty good drop. This was going to be fun.

"Let 'er rip," I whispered back to him.

The ride down started off slowly but quickly picked up intense speed. It was such a thrill and not having to be nervous that I would fall out or get hurt was a bonus. The speed was exhilarating. Edward held onto me tightly and that made the experience even more intense. I was screaming in excitement and laughing hysterically by the time we made it to the bottom.

"Did you like it love?" Edward teased.

"Oh that was awesome! Let's go again." We climbed back up the hill at top speed, Edward pulling the toboggan. As we settled in to ride again, I leaned back, tilted my head up and kissed him before we pushed off. Once again, it was pure exhilaration. This time Edward screamed with me, and I laughed so hard, I would have peed my pants if I were still human.

"Again!" I demanded and started up the hill before Edward was off the toboggan.

This time I wanted to try something different. Edward sat down and held his hand out to help me down. I turned around and faced him wrapping my legs around his waist with my arms around his neck.

I kissed him before I said, "Go."

I loved watching his expression as we flew down the hill again at top speed facing each other, holding tightly to one another.

"Race you back to the top!" Edward called out and took off ahead of me. Even with the head start, I beat him easily thanks to my newborn status.

"Ha-ha!" I gloated. When he reached me, he swung me around by the waist.

"No worries love, the view was better from where I was anyway." Edward gave me a wicked smile.

I let out a loud gasp, "Why you little pervert."

"Want to go again you tease?" His eyes smoldered and I felt a delicious heat spread throughout my body. He was getting bold.

"Oh yeah." Once he sat down, I again faced him. But this time I crawled straight into his lap and wrapped my legs tightly around his waist. I crushed my lips to his and licked at his lips refusing to break the kiss until the toboggan stopped at the bottom.

I went to stand up but Edward pulled me back down into his lap. "Where do you think you are going?" he said in a husky voice.

Mmmm, this was getting good. Edward returned the previous kiss with more passion as he sucked my bottom lip between his and teased at it with his tongue. I pushed myself further into his lap and ground my hips against him making him moan. Opening his mouth and releasing my lower lip, I met his tongue and lapped at it, savoring the sweet taste. The next thing I knew Edward was pushing me down on the toboggan while his hands roamed over my body, igniting bursts of flaming heat everywhere he touched. I reached for him, caressing his chest and his neck, arching into his body, wanting to feel him tight against me. He felt so damn good.

The toboggan started sliding and we fell off into the snow, laughing. I suddenly had the strangest desire to make snow angels. So, I began stretching my arms and legs out before I circled them in large motions creating the skirt and wings affect.

Edward watched with curiosity and smirked when we realized what I was doing.

"You always have been my angel." He smiled at me, extending his hand to help me up so I wouldn't ruin it.

Turning to lean my back against his chest and admire my handiwork, I was content. Edward's arms wrapped around my waist and his chin on my shoulder; I felt completely at home.

"Want to build a snowman?" he asked not releasing his hold on me.

"Sure," I responded, not moving from his hold.

"One of us will have to move in order to do that love," he teased whispering into my ear.

"Unh huh," I whispered back. I was _not_ moving – being in his arms was entirely too perfect.

We stood there for ages just holding each other when a deer came strolling into the opposite end of the field. It looked up at us before it took off running back in the direction it came. We laughed and finally broke our hold.

"So, do you know how to make a snowman?" I asked.

"Well, I _am_ from Chicago, but it has been about a hundred years since I last made one. I think you start with a snow ball, like this." Bending down Edward shoveled snow into his hands and started forming a ball. Holding it up for my inspection, he cast an evil little gleam at me before pulling his arm back.

"Don't you dare!" I yelled.

"You better run." I turned to run just as the snowball left his hand. It made contact with the back of my head.

"Oh, you are in serious trouble now," I teased stooping to gather snow. Without bothering to form a ball, I just threw the whole lot of it into his face and ran.

Catching me, Edward pulled us both down into the snow and hovered on top of me. He held my wrists above my head, pinning me under him, one knee on either side of my hips. I felt exhilarated.

"Who's in trouble love?" he purred as his tongue flicked up the side of my neck and swirled behind my ear. Oh hell, he was driving me crazy.

I was still stronger than he was and could have easily flipped him, reversing our positions, but didn't. I liked it when he was like this with me. Besides we were having so much fun together just being silly and flirting.

_Ohhhhh, that felt good._

His wicked tongue was making its way across my throat before starting down the center of my chest. He didn't stop until he encountered my heavy sweater and down vest. It felt just as good as it made its way back up my throat and over my chin, stopping to lick at my lips. I opened my mouth to him and he darted his tongue in and out several times before I closed my lips around him and sucked him into my mouth, sealing our lips. We made out for the longest time, but it wasn't enough. I needed more of him; I wanted more of him. An aching began to pull at my chest and down toward my stomach drawing me closer to him. I ran my fingers behind his neck and teased at his hairline.

"Come on, I know where there is a hot spring not too far from here. You'll love it." Edward scooped me up, cradled me to his chest, and started to run. The ache ran down my body like a slow burn as I pushed myself further into his hold.

I locked my lips back on his and flicked my tongue in and out of his mouth as he ran. Teasing him and taunting him while I ran my hand over his nipple, pinching intermittently.

God, I could not keep my hands off him. The feel of his body under my fingers pushed the burning heat through me, and I moaned into his mouth.

He was right. The hot spring was simply beautiful with the dense fog that rose around it from the hot air and moisture reaching the frigid air temperature. It was unseasonably cold today. The pool was no more than twelve feet around and looked about four feet deep.

I looked to Edward and he smiled. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, it's beautiful here." I caressed his cheek as he leaned into my touch.

I climbed down out of his arms and unzipped the vest dropping it to the ground. My hands trembled a little with the anticipation of what I was about to do. I kicked the boots off my feet before lifting my sweater up and over my shoulders and over my head, dropping it next to the vest. Edward's eyes about popped out of his head as he stood there watching me. His intense gaze started that burn running south between my legs. Next, I slowly pulled down the zipper to my jeans. I wiggled the denim down my hips trying to tease him as I stepped out of them. I stood in my bra and panties and crooked my finger to him urging him forward. God, I wanted him so badly as my needless breath hitched.

"Are you sure?" he asked searching my eyes.

"Yes, Edward, I want you to make love to me." I smiled when he kissed me softly before unzipping his Northface jacket.

His hand slipped over my shoulder and pulled down the strap of my bra. He leaned in and kissed the skin where the strap had been, tracing the lines left behind. I reached for his waist and unbuttoned his jeans pushing at them. Edward took two steps back and took the rest of his clothes off while his eyes locked to mine. Stepping forward again, he finished removing my bra and he gasped.

"Mmmmm." He ran his hands tenderly down my sides sliding his fingers under the waistband of the little boy shorts that matched the discarded bra and wiggled them down over my hips.

Both standing naked in front of each other after waiting for so long for this, we took turns looking down at the other's body. _Oh my word, he was worth the wait._ The burn covered my entire body now and I realized it was lust. His glorious abs ended in that sexy little v over those hips and that tangle of hair introduced his fabulous cock in all its hardened glory, standing, waiting to greet me. Suddenly I was very nervous; butterflies were flitting through my stomach. I reached out for it and Edward grabbed my hand. I whined and he just laughed before he pulled me close into his chest, our entire bodies molded together at every possible juncture. He tilted my head back and looked into my eyes, smiling. I could die happy just from the way that he looked at me right now.

"Isabella Swan, I love you with all my heart, cold as it might be. It feels like it beats for you alone." His voice was thick with emotion and my dead heart swelled.

"I love you too, Edward Masen, not Edward Cullen the vampire, not any other rendition. I love you, the one, and only original you, Edward." He gasped putting his head to mine.

"Thank you." He kissed the top of my head.

Holding my hand Edward helped my into the hot spring pool and climbed in after me. The contrast of the hot water and the frigid air was amazing and the passion that ran through my body at his touch was just incredible.

"Please Edward, I can't wait any longer. Take me now," I moaned in a breathy voice.

"Gladly, my love." He pulled me closer and ran his hands down my backside massaging my ass tenderly at first and then rougher as one hand circled to the front and rubbed up between my thighs grazing over the sensitive skin of each. The sensation caused shivers to run up my spine. He leaned in to kiss me and pushed his chest to mine. The current in the cold air above the water line bubbled around us, stimulating the skin just below my breasts. I circled his nipples with my fingers and bit at his lower lip. He moaned, quivering under my touch. His hand travelled up to my lips and he spread them inciting tremors to form on my overly sensitive body. _Oh God!_ His long thin fingers circled and circled before plunging into me.

_Oh God!_

I would not last long, the waiting and the anticipation alone would soon throw me over the edge, but what he was doing with his fingers was just plain criminal. My knees were weak.

"Are you ready?" he whispered in my ear.

"Yes!" I cried out.

Edward lifted me and I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He positioned his cock at my entrance.

"I love you," he groaned as he slowly slid into me, stretching me. He took his time, moving further in, ever so slowly.

"Oh God, Edward." My head dropped back and I felt myself aching to get closer to him.

"Are you ok?" He asked, his voice strained as he tried to control his actions.

"Yes, it feels so good" I sighed, relishing the feel of him inside of me.

Once he fully seated himself inside me, he groaned while simultaneously emitting a satisfied purr. I felt the reverberations through my entire body adding to the pleasure. It was so amazing. Slowly he started thrusting and I angled my hips to take him in deeper. He kept his arms around my hips pulling me up and down on him in synch with his thrusts. I needed him closer, I didn't think I could ever get enough of him at that moment. The sensations running through me threatened to sever the last of my sanity. He felt so damn good inside me.

"Oh God. Faster," I begged.

He growled as he sped up on my command and I arched into him seeking further contact. Holy hell, this was so worth the wait. I swear I saw fireworks and shooting stars across the sky. He snaked one arm further under my bottom while bringing the other in between our wet bodies to caress my clit with his fingers.

"_Oh, oh, oh my God, don't stop, please! Yes, Yes! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" _I screamed.

My head fell back and I clenched so tight around him as he kept thrusting and working those fingers around my clit. My body shook – I couldn't get enough of my Edward. I leaned in and kissed him roughly and he groaned under my mouth. I felt his release as it exploded inside my body causing my body to clench around him tighter as we rode the last of our climax together. He slowed his thrusts and slid his fingers out from between us. I dropped my head to his shoulder and tightened my arms around his neck.

_Oh my God!_

"Oh Bella, that was amazing," Edward purred in awe. I looked up to see his eyes full of love and wonder for me.

"Hmmmm, yes it was." I was so delirious I could barely speak as I returned his gaze.

**So, what did you think? Finally, huh? Or maybe they should have waited longer???? Dying to know if it was what you thought it should be for these two crazy kids. Send some love and your thoughts.**


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